Dihydropyrimidine Dehydrogenase (Dpd) Screening In Blood Plasma Of Cancer Patients Indicated To Fluoropyrimidine Chemotherapy By Elisa Method

5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) remains the backbone chemotherapy in treating gastrointestinal tract (GIT) cancer patients. Dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD) is a catalyzing enzyme in the first and rate-limiting step of the degradation process of the 5-FU. A number of factors are associated with the type and degree of toxicity during treatment with 5-FU. It has become a widely established opinion that the role of DPD deficiency for toxic effects and that variations in the phenotype of the enzyme can be clinically relevant as predictors of fluoropyrimidine-associated intolerance. Our aim was to determine the level of DPD enzyme in patients with GIT cancer treated with 5-fluorouracil (FOLFOX-4) in blood plasma by ELISA and possible correlation with myelotoxicity.Our results show that the ELISA method allows for an easy and inexpensive determination of DPD enzyme level in the blood plasma of cancer patients with fluoropyrimidine chemotherapy.The relation between the intensity of 5-FU adverse effects and DPD levels in blood plasma of GIT patients has been quantified for the first time. The results show that the higher the DPD blood plasma levels the less life threatening adverse effects are.