Oxidative stress level is not associated with survival in terminally ill cancer patients: a preliminary study

BACKGROUND While cancer patients have higher oxidative stress (OS) and lower antioxidant activity, evidence for the association of these parameters with survival in patients with terminally ill cancer is lacking. METHODS We followed 65 terminal cancer patients prospectively. We assessed their performance status, some symptoms, and serum levels of vitamin C and OS level. The Gehan's generalized Wilcoxon test was used to examine the association between survival times and variables. RESULTS Subjects' performance status was very poor and they had a high level of OS and a low level of vitamin C. No significant association of these two parameters with survival time was noted (p-value, 0.637 for high OS and 0.240 for low vitamin C). Poor performance status was independently related to high OS status after adjusting for potential confounders (adjusted OR, 4.45; p-value, 0.031). CONCLUSIONS In this study, OS was not associated with survival of terminally ill cancer patients and its prognostic role requires further study.