Effect of radiotherapy on serum ferritin in cancer breast patients

ABSTRACT

This study included 20 infiltrating duct carcinoma patients, who were tested for serum ferritin before and after post operative radiotherapy. We followed the radiotherapy regimen of NEMROCK. Their values were compared to those of 20 normal controls. Cancer breast patients had significantly higher values of serum ferritin when compared to the control. This was found in both the pre treatment and post treatment groups. However, two to three months after completing radiotherapy, serum ferritin significantly dropped to a level below the pre treatment value. Our results prove that serum ferritin may be used as a reliable marker of tumor burden during the the follow-up of cancer breast patients. It can also be used to assess the radiotherapy effect on the tumor