ABSTRACT
Objective:To investigate the influence of low-dose ionizing radiation on the expression level of serum insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) in radiation workers in hospitals.Methods:183 radiation workers were randomly selected and grouped by work type including interventional radiology ( n=37), nuclear medicine ( n=43), radiotherapy ( n=48), and diagnostic radiology ( n=55). The content of IGFBP-3 in the serum of radiation workers was detected by ELISA assay. Results:It was observed that the expression level of serum IGFBP-3 in the four groups had significant differences ( F=6.056, P<0.05), and the content of serum IGFBP-3 in the interventional radiology group was significantly higher than that of nuclear medicine, radiotherapy, and diagnostic radiology groups ( t= 2.815, 3.611, 3.936, P<0.05). The concentration of IGFBP-3 in the serum of radiation workers among different annual effective dose groups was statistically different ( F=8.380, P<0.05), which gradually increased with the increase of annual effective dose and length of service ( rs=0.202, 0.151, P<0.05). Conclusions:The expression level of serum IGFBP-3 has the potential to be used as a biomarker to reflect the cumulative exposure of long-term chronic low-dose ionizing radiation.