Abstract
Introduction: Haematological malignancies (HM) are malignant disorders involving the haemopoietic system. Oxidative stress has been implicated in the development and evolution of these disorders. To measure total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in patients with HM and to determine if any, the relationship between TAC and total lipid in these patients.
Presentation of the case: This is a multicentre cross sectional study. Patients were sampled with self administered questionnaire that documented their biodata and the various types of haematological malignancies they had. Blood samples from 31 patients with HM and 11 controls were assessed for TAC and total lipids using RelAssay and TECO diagnostic kits respectively. Difference between means was compared using student T-test. The relationship between TAC and TL was measured using Pearson’s correlation coefficient.
Total antioxidant capacity was significantly lower in patients with HM. The mean total lipid concentrations of the cancer patients were higher than in the controls but this was not statistically significant (p>0.05). A negative correlation was found between TAC and total lipids in patients with HM.
Conclusion: This study has further affirmed that patients with HM have a significantly lower antioxidant activity. However, further investigations are required to fully elucidate the mechanism and clinical implications of reduced TAC in these patients.