Radiation-related Changes in Serum Proteome Profiles Detected by Mass Spectrometry in Blood of Patients Treated with Radiotherapy Due to Larynx Cancer

The study aimed to detect features of human serum proteome that were associated with exposure to ionizing radiation. The analyzed group consisted of 46 patients treated with radical radiotherapy for larynx cancer; patients were irradiated with total doses in a range from 51 to 72 Gy. Three consecutive blood samples were collected from each patient: before the start, 2 weeks after the start, and 4–6 weeks after the end of radiotherapy. The low-molecular-weight fraction of the serum proteome (2,000–13,000 Da) was analyzed by the MALDI-ToF mass spectrometry. Proteome profiles of serum samples collected before the start of radiotherapy and during the early stage of the treatment were similar. In marked contrast, mass profiles of serum samples collected several weeks after the end of the treatment revealed clear changes. We found that 41 out of 312 registered peptide ions changed their abundance significantly when serum samples collected after the final irradiation were compared with samples collected at the two earlier time points. We also found that abundances of certain serum peptides were associated with total doses of radiation received by patients. The results of this pilot study indicate that features of serum proteome analyzed by mass spectrometry have potential applicability as a retrospective marker of exposure to ionizing radiation.