The effect of vitamin E on plasmatic malondialdehyde levels during surgical removal of ovarian and endometrial carcinomas.

This study deals with the monitoring of plasmatic levels of malondialdehyde, as the main indicator of oxidative damage to biomembranes. Malondialdehyde is determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) after derivatization employing 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine. A clinical study involving 20 female patients suffering from ovarian and endometrial carcinomas has demonstrated elevated levels of malondialdehyde (10.1 +/- 1.1 microM), compared with the control group (7.5 +/- 2.7 microM). It has been further verified that surgical removal of the tumor leads to an additional increase in the plasmatic malondialdehyde content. This unfavourable situation can be effectively eliminated by administration of a single dose of vitamin E prior to surgery.