Measurement of serum ferritin by radioimmunoassay: results in normal individuals and patients with breast cancer.
Ferritins are iron-containing proteins found in normal tissues; they increase in concentration in many tumors and the blood of tumor-bearing individuals. We utilized a double-antibody radioimmunoassay for measurement of serum ferritin and defined the upper limit of normal as 146 ng/ml for women (mean 34 ng/ml) and 193 ng/ml for men (mean 93 ng/ml). Serum ferritin levels exceeded these limits in preoperative sera of 41% of women with mammary carcinoma (mean 199 ng/ml) and in 67% of women with locally recurrent or metastatic mammary carcinoma (mean 671 ng/ml). Individuals with hepatic inflammatory states are known to have high serum ferritin, and ferritin was increased in 43% of patients with hepatitis or cirrhosis (mean 364 ng/ml) and in 13% of patients with ulcerative colitis or gastroduodenal ulcers (mean 106 ng/ml). Measurement of serum ferritin may be useful in evaluation of patients with breast cancer and in monitoring their response to therapy.
D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism*; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D005293:Ferritins / Q000097:blood*; D006505:Hepatitis / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D007938:Leukemia / Q000097:blood; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000097:blood; D008223:Lymphoma / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000378:metabolism; D010437:Peptic Ulcer / Q000097:blood; D011863:Radioimmunoassay
D005293:Ferritins