The clinical significance of elevated ferritin

Everyone has ferritin in their body, and its main function is to store iron in the human body. If the ferritin content in the human body is too low, it is likely to cause iron deficiency anemia, so it is very necessary to maintain normal ferritin content in the human body. Some people find that they have elevated levels of ferritin. So, what is the clinical significance of increased ferritin levels?

Ferritin is one of the main forms of iron stored in the human body. Currently, radioimmunoassay and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay are used for detection.

Clinical significance: It is an important indicator for diagnosing iron deficiency anemia and is also one of the markers of malignant tumors.

Increased serum ferritin, aplastic anemia (decreased iron utilization), hemolytic anemia (excessive iron release); hemochromatosis and repeated blood transfusions (increased iron absorption or storage), lead poisoning and anemia caused by vitamin B6 deficiency (decreased iron utilization), malignant tumors, liver diseases, and acute infections.

Ferritin is a large molecular weight protein and the main storage form of iron. The upper limit of normal ferritin measurement is 400 ng/ml. Some tumors often increase and exceed this value, which is commonly seen in: acute leukemia, Hodgkin's disease, lung cancer, colon cancer, liver cancer and prostate cancer. Ferritin detection has diagnostic value for liver metastatic tumors. 76% of patients with liver metastasis have ferritin levels higher than 400ng/ml. Combined detection with AFP, especially in liver cancer patients with normal AFP, can improve the diagnosis rate.

The increase in ferritin may be due to cell necrosis, blocked erythropoiesis, or increased synthesis in tumor tissue.

Ferritin determination is suitable for understanding the body's iron metabolism. Testing ferritin at the beginning of treatment can reflect the body's iron reserves at that time and can detect insufficient iron storage in the reticuloendothelial system at an early stage. Clinically, a threshold of 20 ng/ml can effectively determine latent iron deficiency and indicate depletion of iron stores.

Under normal circumstances, stored iron can be used for the synthesis of hemoglobin. If it is lower than 12ng/ml, it is judged as latent iron deficiency. The above two measurement values ​​do not require further laboratory reference data, even when the blood cell morphology is normal. If accompanied by microcytic hypochromic anemia, it may indicate iron deficiency. If the ferritin level is high, the possibility of abnormal iron supply is ruled out, which reflects the condition of excess iron in the body.