J Cancer Res Clin Oncol (2009) 135:997–1004 DOI 10.1007/s00432-008-0535-7 123 ORIGINAL PAPER Plasma malondialdehyde levels and CXCR4 expression in peripheral blood cells of breast cancer patients Juliana Laino do Val Carneiro · Suzana Lucy Nixdorf · Mário Sérgio Mantovani · Ana Cristina da Silva do Amaral Herrera · Mateus Nobrega Aoki · Marla Karine Amarante · Bruno Alberto Fabris · Maria Helena Pelegrinelli Fungaro · Maria Angelica Ehara Watanabe Received: 4 August 2008 / Accepted: 8 December 2008 / Published online: 6 January 2009  Springer-Verlag 2008 Abstract Introduction Breast cancer is one of the most common neoplasms in women and is a leading cause of cancer related deaths worldwide. Chemokines and their receptors are involved in the control of lymphocyte traYc, a critical component of systemic immunity. CXCR4 mRNA could be involved in the development of variety of diseases. Lipid peroxidation, the result of nonenzymatic autooxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids, presents numerous harmful eVects on biological systems and has been implicated in diseases like cancer. This study examined CXCR4 mRNA expression in peripheral blood cells and malondialdehyde (MDA) in plasma from blood donors and breast cancer patients. Materials and methods CXCR4 expression in peripheral blood cells from 59 breast cancer patients and 76 healthy blood donors was analyzed by real-time PCR. Plasma MDA was analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Conclusion In all stages, MDA levels in total breast can- cer patients (1.41 § 0.11) were signiWcantly higher (P < 0.01) than those in healthy subjects (0.34 § 0.03). No statistically signiWcant diVerence occurred between CXCR4 expression in peripheral blood cells from breast cancer patients (1.69 § 1.05) and the normal healthy con- trol group (1.8 § 0.65). However, stage II samples diVered statistically (4.3 § 1.72) from control, total cancer patients and stages I, III and IV samples. Keywords CXCR4 · Malondialdehyde · Breast cancer Introduction Current understanding of the role of several cancer risk factors is more comprehensive, as reported for a number of sites, including the brain, colon, breasts, and ovaries. Despite such advances, the incidence of breast cancer con- tinues to increase worldwide. Breast cancer is the most common malignancy and sec- ond leading cause of cancer death in women. Ninety per- cent of mortality in breast cancer is often associated with metastatic progression or relapse in patients. Critical stages in the development of aggressive breast cancer include the growth of primary tumors and their ability to spread to for- eign organs and form metastases, as well as the establish- ment of an independent blood supply within the new tumors. Hence, it is imperative to characterize the key mol- ecules that regulate the metastasis of human breast cancer cells. The expression of CXCR4/CXCL12 in breast tumors has been correlated with a poor prognosis, increased metas- tasis, resistance to conventional therapeutic agents, and a poor outcome in the pathogenesis of breast cancer (Hinton et al. 2008). J. L. do Val Carneiro · A. C. da Silva do Amaral Herrera · M. N. Aoki · M. K. Amarante · M. A. Ehara Watanabe (&) Department of Pathological Sciences, Biological Sciences Center, State University of Londrina, Campus Universitário, CEP 86051-970 Londrina, PR, Brazil e-mail: maewat@sercomtel.com.br S. L. Nixdorf Department of Chemistry, State University of Londrina, Londrina, PR, Brazil M. S. Mantovani · M. H. Pelegrinelli Fungaro Department of Biology, Biological Sciences Center, State University of Londrina, Londrina, PR, Brazil B. A. Fabris Department of Pathology, Clinical Analysis, and Toxicology, Health Sciences Center, State University of Londrina, Londrina, PR, Brazil