Abstract

Background. Physiological changes in cancer cells involve metabolic rearrangements aimed at energy production and the remodeling of surrounding tissues. These changes are indicators of malignant transformation. Aim: to comprehensively assess changes in zinc levels, lactate dehydrogenase activity, and the relationship between these indicators in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) cells. Materials and methods. Tissue samples from 40 patients diagnosed with laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma were analyzed after elective surgical tumor resection. Tissue sections were stained with the fluorescent dye N-(6-methoxy-8- quinolinyl)-4-methylenebenzenesulfonamide to detect zinc, and with nitrotetrazolium blue in a mixture of NAD+ and sodium lactate to assess lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity. Results. In normal laryngeal epithelium, LDH activity was 24 % higher than in the underlying connective tissue. Similar LDH activity levels were observed in keratinizing LSCC. In contrast, tissues from non-keratinizing LSCC showed a 32 % increase in LDH activity compared to surrounding connective tissue. Zinc levels in LSCC cancer cells were elevated by 40-60 % relative to connective tissue, which is significantly lower than the corresponding difference in normal laryngeal epithelium (approximately 150-170 %). A statistically significant 23 % increase in zinc content was found in non-keratinizing LSCC tissue compared to keratinizing LSCC. However, no correlation was observed between zinc levels and LDH activity in LSCC tissues. Conclusion. Non-keratinizing LSCC exhibits higher LDH and zinc levels compared to keratinizing LSCC and normal laryngeal epithelium, which may indicate a higher degree of malignancy in this cancer subtype