ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: The liver remains the primary site of iron storage, with liver iron concentration (LIC) being a strong surrogate of total body iron. MRI-R2 can accurately measure LIC. The LICNET (Liver Iron Cutino Network) was established to diagnostics of liver iron overload by MRI-R2 subjects with hemochromatosis in hematological disorders. The aims of the study were to look at variation in LIC measurements during time across different chelation regimens. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study of 130 patients attending 9 Italian centers participating in the LICNET. LIC comparisons over time (T0 and T1 ) were made using t test and/or Wilcoxon test. RESULTS: LIC significantly decreased from MRI1 to MRI2 although at high variance (median change -0.8 mg Fe/g dw, range: -29.0 to 33.0; P = .011) and 7.7% of patients shifted from LIC values of high risk (>15 mg Fe/g dw) to an intermediate-risk category (7-15 mg Fe/g dw). Median change in LIC and correlation with serum ferritin levels (SF), during different chelation regimens, is reported. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest as longitudinal variation in the LIC is possible, across all chelation regimens. It confirms as SF levels not always can be used for estimating changes in LIC.
Subject(s)
Iron Overload/metabolism , Iron Overload/pathology , Iron/metabolism , Liver/metabolism , Liver/pathology , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Biomarkers/blood , Chelation Therapy , Child , Cross-Sectional Studies , Female , Ferritins/blood , Humans , Iron Chelating Agents/therapeutic use , Iron Overload/diagnostic imaging , Iron Overload/etiology , Liver/diagnostic imaging , Liver/drug effects , Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods , Male , Middle Aged , Young AdultABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Real-life data on the use of R2 MRI for the assessment of liver iron concentration (LIC) remain limited. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis on 363 patients (mean age 35.6 yr, 44.1% men) with hemoglobinopathies (204 ß-thalassemia major [TM], 102 ß-thalassemia intermedia [TI], and 57 sickle cell disease [SCD]) that were evaluated with R2 MRI as part of LICNET, an MRI network of 13 Italian treatment centers. RESULTS: The mean LIC was 7.8 mg/g (median: 4.0), with high LIC (>7 mg/g) noted in both transfused (TM, TI 37%; SCD 38%) and non-transfused (TI 20%) patients. Ferritin levels correlated with LIC in both transfused (TM, TI, SCD) and non-transfused (TI) patients (P < 0.001), although lower values predicted high LIC in non-transfused patients (1900 vs. 650 ng/mL in TM vs. non-transfused TI). A correlation between LIC and ALT levels was only noted in HCV-negative patients (rs = 0.316, P < 0.001). The proportion of patients with high LIC was significantly different between iron chelators used (P = 0.023), with the lowest proportion in deferasirox (30%) and highest in deferiprone (53%)-treated patients. CONCLUSIONS: High LIC values persist in subgroups of patients with hemoglobinopathy, warranting closer monitoring and management optimization, even for non-transfused patients with relatively low ferritin levels.
