The Effect of Coenzyme Q10 Supplementation on Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor and Serum Levels of Interleukin 6 and 8 in Women with Breast Cancer: A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Randomized Clinical Trial

Figures & data

Figure 1 Subject’s flowchart. One hundred twenty-two subjects were included in the study. After the exclusion of 63 subjects due to unwillingness, travelling, medication alteration, and susceptibility to CoQ10, 30 breast cancer patients and 29 healthy persons remained and randomized to four groups. Fifteen breast cancer patients and 14 healthy subjects took the CoQ10 supplement and 15 breast cancer patients and 15 healthy subjects took the placebo. Serum samples were sent to the laboratory for evaluation of inflammatory factors before and 8 weeks after the intervention.

Table 1 Anthropometric and Demographic Characteristics in Participants Under Study

Variables	Placebo (N=30)		CoQ10 (N=29)		P-Value
	Healthy	Patient	Healthy	Patient
Age (y)	34±7.99	36.33±7.73	37.33±8.11	40.66±5.19	0.108
Height (cm)	157.8±6.60	158.26±2.40	158.26±4.43	158.53±6.02	0.969
Weight (kg)	63.6±5.46	64.33±8.46	65.33±6.34	65.26±8.43	0.901
BMI (kg.m-2)	25.61±2.65	25.66±3.15	25.98±2.71	25.96±3.01	0.250
Educational status					0.689
Illiterate	2 (13.3%)	2 (13.3%)	2 (13.3%)	6 (40%)
Primary	9 (60%)	11 (73.3%)	9 (60%)	7 (46.7%)
Secondary	3 (20%)	1 (6.7%)	3 (20%)	1 (6.7%)
College/university	1 (6.7%)	1 (6.7%)	1 (6.7%)	1 (6.7%)
Marital status					0.857
Married	12 (80%)	14 (93.3%)	12 (80%)	13 (86.7%)
Unmarried	3 (20%)	1 (6.7%)	3 (20%)	2 (13.3%)
Cigarette/alcohol					1
No	15 (100%)	14 (93.3%)	15 (100%)	14 (93.3%)
Yes	0	1 (6.7%)	0	1 (6.7%)
Physical activity					1
Light	14 (93.3%)	15 (100%)	14 (93.3%)	14 (93.3%)
Moderate	1 (6.7%)	0	1 (6.7%)	1 (6.7%)
Vigorous	0	0	0	0

Notes: Anthropometric data are given as mean±SD and demographic data are given as a number (percent).

Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index; CoQ10, coenzyme Q10.

Table 2 CoQ10 Status in Participants Before and After Supplementation

Variables	Before (Mean±SD)	After (Mean±SD)	P-Value
CoQ10 (ng/L)
Healthy/Placebo	39.06±8.97	39.33±10.09	0.060
Patient/Placebo	18.73±2.93	18±3.09	0.65
Healthy/CoQ10	35.14±7.35	74.50±3.75	<0.0001
Patient/CoQ10	18.40±4.04	62.40±4.67	<0.0001

Abbreviation: CoQ10, coenzyme Q10.

Table 3 Effect of Coenzyme Q10 Supplementation on Serum Cytokine Levels in Healthy Subjects and Breast Cancer

Variables	Before (Mean±SD)	After (Mean±SD)	P-Value
IL6 (ng/L)			0.043
Healthy/Placebo	83.06±20.91	76.06±19.17
Patient/Placebo	214.06±31.37	202.40±29.65
Healthy/CoQ10	91.85±81.83	72.21±59.05
Patient/CoQ10	120.20±79.35	95.53±89.14
IL8 (ng/L)			<0.0001
Healthy/Placebo	191.93±135.87	185.73±134.50
Patient/Placebo	281.60±135.79	274.26±133.47
Healthy/CoQ10	262±114.51	143.78±108.10
Patient/CoQ10	255.06±124.34	156±108.63
VEGF (ng/L)			0.699
Healthy/Placebo	1522.80±277.34	1507.66±278.83
Patient/Placebo	1432.86±92.79	1421±89.19
Healthy/CoQ10	1778.92±597.03	1538.78±527.98
Patient/CoQ10	1767±594.32	1522.46±279.82

Abbreviations: IL6, interleukin-6; IL8, interleukin-8; VEGF, vascular endothelial growth factor A.

Availability of Data and Material

The datasets used and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.