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Serum Ferritin Level Tied to Fibrosis in Older Patients With MF
Researchers have observed a significant link between serum ferritin level and fibrosis in older patients with myelofibrosis (MF; Am J Blood Res. 2020 Dec 15;10[6]:345-350).
“Associated with increased cytokines and inflammation, anemia deepens and an increase in serum ferritin levels is also expected. There are no studies addressing the relationship between ferritin and splenomegaly or fibrosis,” wrote Osman Yokuş, MD, Department of Hematology, University of Health Sciences, Istanbul Training and Research Hospital Istanbul, Turkey, and colleagues.
Therefore, Dr Yokuş et al retrospectively examined 46 cases of MF diagnosed between 2012 and 2020 to assess the relationship between serum ferritin level and splenomegaly and bone marrow fibrosis.
The cases were divided into 3 subgroups, including primary MF (n = 30), secondary MF (n = 26), and myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS; n = 7).
Ultimately, no relationship was found between serum ferritin and splenomegaly in any of the cases or subgroup analyses (PMF, P = .564; SMF, P = .192; MDS/MPN, P = .364), but a statistically significant relationship was observed between serum ferritin and marrow fibrosis among patients aged ≥60 years (P = .016).
“Disruption of hematopoiesis and progressive splenomegaly causes an increase in iron stores associated with an increased need for transfusion. This causes iron-related organ toxicity and bone marrow hematopoiesis disruption, leading to an increase in morbidity,” Dr Yokuş and co-investigators reported.
“We see that a significant relationship between ferritin and fibrosis has been revealed in the group aged 60 years and older. It is an unprecedented study in the literature in terms of both examining the relationship ferritin and fibrosis or splenomegaly and its results,” they concluded.—Hina Porcelli
