Urinary 8‐hydroxy‐2‘‐deoxyguanosine (8‐OHdG) Levels in Women with or without Gynecologic Cancer*

OBJECTIVE: To detect the level of 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) which is an oxygen-radical-forming agent, in the urine of patients with (n = 18) or without (n = 10) carcinoma of the female genitalia. None of the patients had been receiving any treatment before their urinary 8-OHdG levels were measured. METHODS: Urinary 8-OHdG was extracted by a solid-phase technique, and its level was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with an electric chemical detector (ECD). RESULTS: We determined that the urinary 8-OHdG level decreased with as the age of the patient increased, and was extremely high in advanced cancer and recurrent cancer in a considerable number of patients. The urinary 8-OHdG level (1,827 +/- 1,500 pmol/kg/day, mean +/- SEM) in 18 patients with carcinoma was significantly higher (p < or = 0.05) than that (747 +/- 425 pmol/kg/day) in 10 patients without carcinoma. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that it might be possible to determine the spread of cancer to some extent by determining a patient's urinary 8-OHdG level.