Various biochemical tumour markers have been studied singly or in combination, in breast malignancies which help in diagnosing carcinoma of breast cancer.
Aim: To assess the levels of enzymes Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), Gamma glutamyl trans peptidase (GGT), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in patients with newly diagnosed carcinoma breast and study if there is any clinical correlation between the levels of these enzymes with the presence of early untreated breast carcinoma.
Materials and Method: This is a prospective study done during the period February 2018 to Jan 2019 at the Government Pudukkottai Medical College. It was carried out in two groups, namely apparently healthy 27 females controls and 50 females with newly diagnosed carcinoma breast.
Results: The imbalance between free radicals and the anti-oxidants in the causation of breast cancer is being researched. Free radicals have been implicated in the initiation and promotion of carcinogenesis. This study was undertaken to evaluate if the levels of biochemical markers LDH and GGT, and the level of antioxidant enzyme SOD are altered in cases with carcinoma breast when compared to the levels in apparently normal controls. In humans, three forms of superoxide dismutase are present. SOD1 is located in the cytoplasm, SOD2 in mitochondria and SOD3 in the extracellular matrix. SOD causes detoxifies superoxide to hydrogen peroxide. LDH is a glycolytic enzyme with five isoenzymes. The level of LDH is increased in various malignancies. GGT helps in the transportation of amino acids in the cells.
Conclusion: The levels of LDH and GGT were found to be significantly elevated in the cases, whereas the levels of SOD were found to be significantly lower in the cases. The SOD levels were lower in cases with stage-3 carcinoma breast than in cases with stage-2 carcinoma breast.
