Assessment of 8-isoprostane (8-isoPGF2α) in Urine of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy

8-isoprostane (8-isoPGF2α) is a reliable marker and considered a gold standard for lipid peroxidation. There are very few reports of 8-isoprostane levels in cancer patients, and in patients undergoing chemotherapy. Oxidative stress is however expected and has been observed in patients with cancer. This study measured 8-isoprostane levels in urine by ELISA of 25 patients undergoing chemotherapy for advanced non-small cell lung cancer, at cycles 1, 2, and 3 of treatment. It considers the creatinine clearance of the patients, and correction of 8-isoprostane levels by creatinine clearance, and overnight urine volume methods. The average 8-isoprostane levels in urine increased more than 6 to 12 fold on chemotherapy treatment, from 532 ±587 pg/mL at cycle 1, 6181 ± 4334 at cycle 2, and 5511 ± 2055 at cycle 3. Similar results were obtained if 8-isoprostane levels were corrected for overnight urine volume, giving averages of 285 ± 244 μg at cycle 1, 4122 ± 3349 at cycle 2, and 3266 ± 1200 at cycle 3. No significant difference was seen in average total overnight urine volume or number of urinations between chemotherapy cycles except for a large variation in urine volume between cycle 2 and 3. Creatinine levels were significantly different only between cycles 1 and 2 (p=0.016). In conclusion, cisplatin therapy has been shown to induce high levels of lipid peroxidation in lung cancer patients and can be assessed from the 8-isoprostane marker in overnight urine, with or without urine volume correction.