Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-xbtfd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-11T06:07:43.116Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Schizophrenia, lung cancer and glutathione-S-transferase-μ

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 June 2014

Kieran C Murphy ,
M Graham ,
T Mantle  and
RK Shelley
Kieran C Murphy
Affiliation:
Departments of Psychological Medicine and Medical Genetics, University of Wales College of Medicine, Heath Park, Cardiff, CF4 4XN, Wales
T Mantle
Affiliation:
Department of Biochemistry, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland
RK Shelley
Affiliation:
St John of God Hospital, Stillorgan, Co Dublin, Ireland
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Objectives: Several reports have suggested that, despite the high prevalence of cigarette smoking, the incidence of lung cancer is lower than would be expected in patients with schizophrenia. In addition, patients with lung cancer have been shown to have a lower expression of glutathione-Stransferase-μ (GST-μ) compared to healthy controls. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that GST-μ was a trait marker that protected patients with schizophrenia from developing lung cancer.

Methods: One hundred patients who fulfilled DSMIIIR criteria for schizophrenia were examined for the presence or absence of GST-μ.

Results: Significantly more male (86%) and female patients (64%) were smokers compared to general population rates of 30% and 30% respectively (p < 0.0001). There were no significant differences in the expression of GST-μ in patients (48%) compared to controls (46%).

Conclusions: We found no difference in the expression of GST-μ in patients with schizophrenia compared to normal controls. It is therefore unlikely that GST-μ acts as a trait marker protecting patients with schizophrenia from lung cancer. However, a significantly large smoking prevalence rate was ascertained in the patient population.

Keywords

Lung cancerSchizophreniaCigarette smokingGlutathione-S-transferase-μ
Type
Original Papers
Information
Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine , Volume 13 , Issue 4 , December 1996 , pp. 138 - 139
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1996

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1.Scheflen, A. Malignant tumours in the institutional psychotic population. Arch Neurol Psychiatr 1951; 56: 145–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2.Perrin, G, Pierce, I. Psychosomatic aspects of cancer. Psychosom Med 1959; 21: 397–421.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
3.Tsuang, M, Woolson, R, Fleming, JA. Premature deaths in schizophrenia and affective disorders. Arch Gen Psychiatr 1980; 37: 979–83.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
4.Craig, T., Lin, S. Cancer and mental illness. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 1981; 22: 404–10.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
5.Allebeck, P. Schizophrenia: a life-shortening disease. Schizophr Bull 1989; 15(1): 81–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6.Jancar, J. Cancer in the long-stay hospitals. Br J Psychiatry. 1978; 134: 550–1.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
7.Rice, D. No lung cancer in schizophrenics? Br J Psychiatry 1979; 134: 128.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
8.Gopalaswamy, AK, Morgan, R. Smoking in chronic schizophrenia. Br J Psychiatry, 1986; 149: 523.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
9.Hughes, JR, Hatsukami, DK, Mitchell, JE, Dahlgren, LA. Prevalence of smoking among psychiatric outpatients. Am J Psychiatry 1986; 143: 993–7.Google ScholarPubMed
10.Masterson, E, O'Shea, B. Smoking and malignancy in schizophrenia. Br J Psychiatry 1984; 145: 429–32.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
11.Baldwin J, A. Schizophrenia and physical disease. Psychol Med 1979; 9: 611–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
12.Harris, AE. Physical disease and schizophrenia. Schizophr Bull 1988; 14(1): 85–96.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
13.Levi, RN, Waxman, S. Schizophrenia, epilepsy, cancer, methionine and folate metabolism. Lancet 1975; 2: 11–3.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
14.Huxley, J, Mayr, E, Osmond, H, Hoffer, A. Schizophrenia as a genetic morphism. Nature 1964; 204: 220–1.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
15.Driscoll, JS, Melnick, NR, Quinn, FR, et al.Psychotropic drugs as potential antitumour agents: a selective screening study. Cancer Treat Rep 1978; 62: 45–74.Google Scholar
16.Schiff, AA. Lung cancer and schizophrenia. Br J Psychiatry. 1979;135: 190.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
17.Tsuang, MT, Perkins, K, Simpson, JC. Physical diseases in schizophrenia and affective disorder. J Clin Psychiatry 1983; 44: 42–6.Google ScholarPubMed
18.Martin, RL, Cloninger, CR, Guze, SG, et al.Mortality in a follow up of 500 psychiatric outpatients: cause – specific mortality. Arch Gen Psychiatry 1984; 42: 58–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
19.Fox, BH, Howell, MA. Cancer risk among psychiatric patients: a hypothesis. Int J Epidaemiol 1974; 3: 207–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
20.Seidegard, J, Guthenberg, C, Pero, RW, Mannervik, B. The trans-stilbene oxide-active glutathione transferase in human mononuclear leucocytes is identical with the hepatic glutathione transferase-p. J Biochem 1987; 246: 783–5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
21.Warholm, M, Guthenberg, C, Mannervik, . Molecular and catalytic properties of gluthathione-S-transferase-p from human liver: An enzyme efficiently conjugating epoxides. Biochemistry 1983; 22: 3610–17.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
22.Seidegard, J, Pero, RW, Miller, DG, Beattie, EJ. A glutathione transferase in human leucocytes as a marker for susceptibility to lung cancer. Carcinogenesis, 1986; 7(5): 751–3.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
23.Health Promotion Unit. Information on smoking. Dublin: Department of Health, February 1993.Google Scholar