Free radical erythrocyte damage in tumoral disease assessed by He-Ne laser and optical microscope through "Heinz Bodies" method.

Results obtained from blood sample readings by optical microscopy and He-Ne laser (lambda = 630.1 mW), have confirmed the reduction in Heinz Bodies (HB) formation time and the Transmittance Reduction Degree (TRD), in malignancies. The results of spectrometric readings in colorectum polyposis, (TRD = 0.07) and fibrocystic mastopathy (TRD = 0.08) gave results overlapping with controls (TRD = 0.08). In neoplasias, the early HB formation in erythrocytes observed by optical microscope corresponded to TRD increase = 0.17 (P < 0.01). TRD increase was statistically significant (P < 0.01), as well as the reduction in the time of HB appearance (< 0.01). The relationship between optical and laser readings was exponential in tumors, while it was linear in controls, in polyposis and mastopathies. The values of the correlation coefficients obtained by both methods were significant (P < 0.01) for all the studied groups. Moreover, these research data further support the existence, even in the earlier stages of the disease, of the labile state of the red cell membrane due to strong lipid peroxidation by FRs.