Abstract
Serum ferritin and ferritin concentrations within circulating leukocytes were determined by radioimmunoassay in various kinds of leukemia.
(1) Serum ferritin concentrations are high in acute leukemia, especially in acute myelogeneous leukemia, acute monocytic leukemia and erythroleukemia.
(2) In acute non-lymphocytic leukemia, circulating leukemic cells contain higher concentrations of ferritin than normal leukocytes. Serum ferritin levels are directly proportional to the ferritin concentrations within circulating leukocytes (r=0.707, p<0.02).
(3) Liver injury, blood transfusion or infection is an increasing factor of serum ferritin concentrations in acute non-lymphocytic leukemia.
(4) Serum ferritin concentrations are well correlated with serum lactic dehydrogenase levels and are high in acute monocytic leukemia both at presentation and during remission.
(5) In acute non-lymphocytic leukemia, serum ferritin concentrations increase in proportion to blast cell counts of the bone marrow cells (r=0.85, p<0.01).
Based on these observations, high concentrations of serum ferritin may be due to increased ferritin production by leukemic cells and augmented release from it in acute non-lymphocytic leukemia.
