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Effects of treatments on serum vitamin E levels in lung cancer Volume 91, issue 10, Octobre 2004

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École supérieure des sciences et techniques de la santé de Tunis, Université El Mannar, Département de nutrition, BP 176, Bab Suika, 1006 Tunis, Tunisie <leila.trabelsi@laposte.net>, Institut national de nutrition et de technologie alimentaire, Laboratoire de biophysique et biochimie appliquée à la nutrition, 11 rue Jabel-Lakhdar, 1007 Bab Saadoun, Tunis, Tunisie, Hôpital A. Mami de pneumo-phtisiologie de l’Ariana, 2080 Ariana, Tunisie

Previous evidence suggests that malignant tumours cause an decrease in the serum vitamin E level. We followed the serum alpha tocophérol in 55 lung cancer patients. The objective of the study was to evaluate the effects of treatments of lung cancer on serum vitamin E evolution. The vitamin E of patients symptomatically treated decreases from the first month and this decrease is significant (p < 0.001) in patients affected by SCLC and in those with NSCLC classified stage III and IV. The reduction of the vitamin E is also noted in the patients treated with chemotherapy (p < 0.001). Vitamin E levels improve gradually to reach standard values in the patients who followed a curative radiotherapy or benefited from the surgical ablation of the tumour. At 4 months after the surgical removal of the tumour, there was an increase in serum vitamin E concentrations and reached the normal values. This data indicates that surgical removal of lung cancer increases serum vitamin E concentrations compared to the baseline values possibly reflecting the relief of oxidative stress caused by malignant tumours.