Laboratory Assessment of Gastrointestinal Cancer Patients Pre and Post Chemotherapy

Aims: Chemotherapy-induced neutropenia is a common side effect in cancer patients. Other hematopoietic lineages are also decreased in cancer patient. Altered laboratory parameters would prevent patients from chemotherapy. Thus this study identified the significance of blood parameters during chemotherapy among Gastrointestinal (GI) cancer patients.

Study Design: Laboratory based descriptive study.

Place and Duration of Study: Cancer Institute, Georgetown Public Hospital Cooperation, Guyana between 2011 to 2015.

Methodology: A total of 47 patients were included in the study who were diagnosed with GI cancer. Mean±SD was used to measure biochemical and hematological means.

Results: Mean of the patients age was 59.9. Most prevalent GI cancer was of colon (44.7), followed by rectum (12.8). Cancer of maxilla, oesophagus, gall bladder, liver and rectum all had almost the same prevalence (2.1). Most patients used Fluorouracil (74.5%) and Oxaliplatin (72.3). And 42.6% of the patients underwent radiation. There was a variation noted in the values of the hematological and biochemical parameters.

Conclusion: The cancer patients showed a huge variations in the biochemical and hematological parameters.