Hematological and Biochemical Profiles of Breast Cancer Patients attending, Northwest Ethiopia cancer treatment centers: A comparative cross-sectional study

Abstract

Abstract Background: Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women across the world. In breast cancer patients, hematological and biochemical laboratory investigations have a great role in evaluation and monitoring of patients’ disease condition like disease progress, treatment effectiveness and toxicity. Poor parameters adversely influence the outcome. Objective: The aim of the study was to assess hematological and biochemical profiles of breast cancer patients at, Northwest Ethiopia cancer treatment centers. Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted from February to May, 2018. A total of 180 study participants which comprises 90 cases and 90 controls recruited by consecutive sampling technique. Socio-demographic data was collected using structured questionnaire and a total of 6 ml of venous blood was collected for the determination of complete blood cell count, renal function test (urea and Creatinine) and liver function tests (ALP, SGOT and SGPT). The data were entered using Epi Info 7 and analyzed using SPSS version 20. Mean, SD, median and IQR were used to present the data. Moreover independent t-test and Mann-Whitney U- test were used for comparing the mean difference for normally and non- normally distributed data, respectively. P-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Result: This study revealed the mean ALC and creatinine level of breast cancer patients showed a significantly decrement and increment, respectively as compared to healthy controls. The median level of RDW, ALP, SGOT and urea profiles of breast cancer patients showed a significant increment compared to controls while RBC parameters (Hb, MCH and MCHC) decreased significantly in breast cancer patients as compared to controls. The magnitude of anemia, leukopenia and thrombocytopenia among breast cancer patients was 27.8%, 12.2% and 3.3%, respectively. In correlation analysis stage of disease showed statistically significant positive correlation with ALP, SGOT and urea profiles. Similarly cycle of treatment showed significant positive correlation with ALP, creatinine and urea level while significant negative correlation was observed with RBCs and Hb level of breast cancer patients. Conclusion and Recommendation: The study showed that there is a significant difference in hematological and biochemical profiles of breast cancer patients compared to controls. Further prospective cohort studies with large sample size are required to verify the role these parameters in the diagnosis of complication associated with chemotherapy and disease severity.