Individuals with Hematological Malignancies Before Undergoing Chemotherapy Present Oxidative Stress Parameters and Acute Phase Proteins Correlated with Nutritional Status

Abstract

Hematological malignancies present abnormal blood cells that may have altered functions. This study aimed to evaluate nutritional status, acute phase proteins, parameters of cell's functionality, and oxidative stress of patients with hematological malignancies, providing a representation of these variables at diagnosis, comparisons between leukemias and lymphomas and establishing correlations. Nutritional status, C-reactive protein (CRP), albumin, phagocytic capacity and superoxide anion production of mononuclear cells, lipid peroxidation and catalase activity in plasma were evaluated in 16 untreated subjects. Main diagnosis was acute leukemia (n = 9) and median body mass index (BMI) indicated overweight (25.6 kg/m²). Median albumin was below (3.2 g/dL) and CRP above (37.45 mg/L) the reference values. Albumin was inversely correlated with BMI (r = −0.53). Most patients were overweight before the beginning of treatment and had a high CRP/albumin ratio, which may indicate a nutrition inflammatory risk. BMI values correlated positively with lipid peroxidation and catalase activity. A strong correlation between catalase activity and lipid peroxidation was found (r = 0.75). Besides the elevated BMI, these patients also have elevated CRP values and unexpected relations between nutritional status and albumin, reinforcing the need for nutritional counseling during the course of chemotherapy, especially considering the correlations between oxidative stress parameters and nutritional status evidenced here.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank the Postgraduate Program in Nutrition, Federal University of Santa Catarina; Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel; National Council for Scientific and Technological Development; Hematology and Oncology Department, University Hospital of Federal University of Santa Catarina; and Luiz Felipe de Souza, student of the Laboratory of Cellular Defenses, for his help in the analysis of catalase activity.

Additional information

Funding

Financial support was provided by the Postgraduate Program in Nutrition, Federal University of Santa Catarina; the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development; and the Scholarship Program-Social Demand-Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel.