Examination of Erythrocytes of Patients Diagnosed with Cervical Cancer and Breast Cancer During Radiation Therapy

Purpose: To develop new approaches in the study of viral particles in the blood in pathology (cervical cancer (CC) and breast cancer (BC)) and its therapy using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and immunofluorescence analysis: to study the morphology of erythrocytes and the presence of nanoscale structures (NSS) on the surface of erythrocytes during radiation therapy (RT), as well as to determine the composition of NSS. Material and methods: In this work, venous blood samples from patients diagnosed with CC and BC were examined before, during and after RT. RT was performed on a linear electron accelerator (a total dose of 48–50 Gy). The research methods were SEM and immunofluorescence analysis. Results: Using the immunofluorescence analysis before and after RT, murine monoclonal antibodies against human papillomavirus (HPV) proteins of types 1, 6, 11, 16, 18, and 31 and goat polyclonal antibodies against the H and L chains of murine immunoglobulins conjugated with fluorescein were detected on the erythrocyte membrane, which indicated the attachment of viral particles (HPV and vesicles) to the surface of erythrocytes. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that viral particles circulate in the blood of patients diagnosed with CC and BC by adsorption on the surface of erythrocytes. It is possible that this may affect the etiology and development of the disease, its recurrence and the phenomenon of metastasis. The study revealed a change in the number of viral particles in the blood during RT, which can be used as a parameter for evaluating the effectiveness of RT.