At present, the serum ferritin level is not included in the list of prognostic factors; however, it is known that its increased serum level in patients with malignant neoplasms relates with the tumor burden, the degree of disease activity and correlates with a worse prognosis in patients with hematologic malignancies.The normalization of serum ferritin level during remission period confirms the involving of hyperferritinemia in mechanisms of tumor progression and may testify for clinical importance of measurement of serum ferritin level in patients, including those with malignant lymphomas.
Objective:The aim of this study was to assess of the prognostic significance of high ferritin levels at the onset of the disease in patients with malignant lymphomas.
Materials and methods:98 patients with malignant lymphomaswere enrolled in this study, including 72 patients (73.5%) with non-Hodgkins lymphomas (NHL) and 26 patients (26.5%) with Hodgkin’s lymphoma (HL). The increased serum ferritin level (more than 350 ng/ml) was found in 53 (54.2%) patients with malignant lymphomas at the onset of disease and its average concentration was 587,62±131,6 ng/ml (8.3 times higher values of control group, p<0.001).Also the positive statistical correlationsbetween increased ferritin level and increased level of LDH (r=0.47, p<0.001, n=98) and C-reactive protein (r=0.41, p<0.001, n=98) as well as the presence of B-symptomswere found. The median OS was significantly shorter in the group of patients with increased ferritin level (more than 350 ng/ml) at the onset of disease in comparison with group of patients with normal ferritin level, where the median OS was not reach during the observation period. Patients with increased ferritin level before starting chemotherapy also showed worse results of overall survival and increased mortality risk (OR 8.122; 95% CI, 1.764-37.396;р<0.05) compare with a group of patients with ferritin level ˂350 hg/ml at the onset of disease.
Conclusion:These results make it possible to include lymphomas’s patients with increased ferritin level at the onset of disease in the group with poor prognosis and lower OS, while the increased ferritin level in patients without previous blood transfusions should be considered as a significant prognostic factor.