Serum ferritin as a tumor associated marker in malignant lymphomas: Is it influenced by age, serum iron, or C-reactive protein?

ABSTRACT

Serum ferritin concentration as a tumor associated marker was investigated in 60 patients suffering from malignant lymphomas. The patients were categorized into two age groups 30 children [2-14 years] and 30 adults [>14 years]. In an attempt to clarify the mechanism of increased serum ferritin, serum iron, total iron binding capacity [TIBC] [with calculation of percent saturation] and C- reactive protein [CRP] were examined. Increased serum ferritin levels were found in 48.3% of the lymphoma patients, while none of the healthy controls showed an elevated serum ferritin. This increased serum ferritin in patients correlated with the stage of the disease as 70.8% of the disseminated lymphoma [DL] group showed increased serum ferritin compared to 33.3% of patients with non-disseminated disease. Furthermore, the mean ferritin levels showed statistically significant higher values in the DL group, the P value being <0.001. The increase in serum ferritin correlated significantly with CRP suggesting that it is a part of the acute phase reaction