Cisplatin (CDDP) is one of the most active cytotoxic agents in the treatment of cancer. We investigated the effect of selenium (Se) with high dose vitamin E (VE) administration to prevent CDDP-induced nephrotoxicity in rats. In this study, 40 female Wistar rats were randomly divided into five equal groups. The first group, which served as the control, was administered physiological saline (2.5 cc/day, 5 days) intraperitoneally (IP), while group A was administered cisplatin (6 mg/kg BW/ single dose) plus physiological saline IP. Groups B, C, D received IP five doses of Se (1.5 mg/kg BW), and a high dose of VE (1000 mg/kg BW) (Se-VE) in combination before, simultaneously, and after CDDP, respectively. The rats were sacrificed five days after CDDP administration. Plasma malondialdehide (MDA), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), reduced glutathione (GSH), catalase, urea, creatinine levels, renal histopathological changes were measured. The histopathological injury score, plasma levels of MDA, urea, creatinine were found to increase in group A compared to the control (p<0.05), while plasma levels of GSH-Px, GSH and catalase decreased (p<0.05). In contrast, plasma levels of MDA decreased (p<0.05) in groups B, C, D, which were treated with Se- VE, whereas levels of GSH-Px, GSH were found to increase only for group D (p<0.05). Plasma urea, creatinine levels improved in the treatment groups compared to group A (p<0.001). Histopathological changes caused by CDDP were also significantly improved after Se-VE treatment (p<0.05). Oxidative stress increases with CDDP-induced nephrotoxicity in rats. Se-VE supplementation might thus play a role in the prevention of CDDP-induced nephrotoxicity in patients.

Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer among women and a major cause of death. Signal Peptide-Cub-Epidermal growth factor domain-containing protein-1 (SCUBE1) is secreted under hypoxia and inflammatory conditions from platelet alpha granules. Its biological function is uncertain, although it may be a procoagulant substance in cancer patients. SCUBE1 is useful for identifying thrombotic diseases, including cancers and acute coronary syndromes. D-dimer reflects the relationship between coagulation activation and fibrinolysis; namely, thrombosis and D-dimer levels are closely linked. This is the first investigation of the potential diagnostic and prognostic value of SCUBE1 levels in patients with BC. Fifty patients and 33 age-matched and body mass index-matched healthy controls were enrolled. Blood samples were collected before chemotherapy regimens commenced. Serum SCUBE1 and D-dimer levels were measured before adjuvant chemotherapy and were compared to the healthy controls. SCUBE1 levels were determined using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. SCUBE1 and D-dimer levels were significantly higher in patients than in the controls (p = 0.03 and p < 0.001, respectively). A cut-off value of 1.55 ng/mL for SCUBE1 was associated with 62% sensitivity and 72.7% specificity and with positive predictive value of 77.5% and negative predictive value of 55.8%. Two patients with high SCUBE1 and D-dimer levels also developed pulmonary embolism. SCUBE1 may indicate hypercoagulability in patients with BC and thus help identify patients at greater risk of thrombosis and requiring anti-thrombosis treatment. SCUBE1 may also be used as an assistant test for identifying patients at risk of BC.