Deoxyribonucleic acid damage and repair response in the chemotherapy of lung cancer: cross-sectional study.

This study evaluated 24 patients with lung cancer (CA) and 23 individuals with no smoking history or cancer in the family and without respiratory disease in childhood (CO). Peripheral blood lymphocytes was used to perform alkaline comet assay and to assess DNA damage as well as to evaluate methyl methane sulfonate (MMS) DNA repair after one hour and three hours at 37 ºC. The percentage of residual damage (RD) after three hours of MMS treatment, for each patient was assessed.