Changes in Serum Ferritin Concentration during Chemotherapy in Dogs with Multicentric Lymphoma

Abstract

The Usefulness of measuring serum ferritin concentrations as a tumor marker for canine multicentric lymphoma (ML) was evaluated. We found that serum ferritin concentrations of 10 dogs with ML measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were significantly higher than those of 18 healthy dogs (respectively, mean value ± standard deviation: 1448 ± 545 and 373 ± 122 ng/ml, p<0.0001), and the values changed remarkably as chemotherapy progressed. When complete remission had been achieved, mean serum ferritin concentrations dropped to the normal level, but tended to increase at relapse. As serum ferritin concentrations were also increased in other cases of malignant tumors or inflammations, the measurement of serum ferritin concentrations was not well suited for primary diagnosis of ML, but this measurement is useful for monitoring the process of chemotherapy for canine ML.