Evaluating the Effect of Induction Chemotherapy on Bone Metabolizing Nutrients in Patients of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Objective: To determine the levels of bone metabolizing nutrients (vitamin D, calcium, magnesium, potassium) in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) before and after induction chemotherapy, and to correlate the effect of induction chemotherapy on their bone mass (BM).Materials and methods: This quasi-experimental study was carried out at Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC) and Khyber Medical University (KMU) in Peshawar, Pakistan, in one year. A total of 69 newly diagnosed patients with ALL were enrolled in the study. They were to begin the induction phase of chemotherapy at HMC oncology ward for about four weeks, following standard protocols. Data was collected using a predesigned questionnaire, and blood samples were obtained from all the patients by applying a non-probability consecutive sampling technique. The bone biomarkers levels were measured before therapy and after induction chemotherapy for comparison. Data analysis was performed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA), and a p-value of