Prognostic significance of serum retinol, serum alpha-tocopherol, and urinary neopterin in patients with head and neck carcinoma treated with external beam radiation
Language English Country Singapore Media print
Document type Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
- MeSH
- alpha-Tocopherol blood MeSH
- Adult MeSH
- Middle Aged MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Head and Neck Neoplasms blood radiotherapy urine MeSH
- Neopterin urine MeSH
- Prognosis MeSH
- Aged MeSH
- Vitamin A blood MeSH
- Check Tag
- Adult MeSH
- Middle Aged MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Male MeSH
- Aged MeSH
- Female MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
- Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
- Names of Substances
- alpha-Tocopherol MeSH
- Neopterin MeSH
- Vitamin A MeSH
High serum or urinary neopterin concentrations are associated with poor prognosis in patients with tumors of different primary locations, but reports on neopterin in patients with head and neck carcinoma are relatively less numerous. It has been established that decreased circulating concentrations of retinol and alpha-tocopherol are common in this population. We have evaluated the prognostic significance of urinary neopterin, serum retinol, and alpha-tocopherol in 44 patients with head and neck carcinoma. Urinary neopterin, serum retinol, and alpha-tocopherol were determined with high-performance liquid chromatography. High urinary neopterin and low serum retinol were predictive of poor prognosis, while the prognostic significance of low alpha-tocopherol was of borderline significance. Serum retinol significantly decreased during external beam radiation, but a less marked decrease of alpha-tocopherol during therapy did not reach statistical significance. An increase of urinary neopterin was evident late during the course of treatment. In conclusion, high urinary neopterin and low serum retinol are predictive of poor prognosis in patients with head and neck carcinoma.
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