Korean J Intern Med.  2009 Dec;24(4):368-373. 10.3904/kjim.2009.24.4.368.

Elevation of Serum Ferritin is Associated with the Outcome of Patients with Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma

• Song MK
• Chung JS
• Seol YM
• Shin HJ
• Choi YJ
• Cho GJ

• KMID: 1776667
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3904/kjim.2009.24.4.368

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS
Serum ferritin is a marker of acute phase reactions and iron storage. In addition, hematologic malignancies are associated with elevated serum ferritin levels. Other studies have suggested that ferritin is a surrogate for advanced disease and has an impact on relapse, because elevated serum ferritin predicts overall survival (OS) and relapse-free survival following autologous stem cell transplantation for lymphomas. METHODS: We studied 89 consecutive patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma to determine the value of serum ferritin in comparison with known prognostic factors. RESULTS: The OS in the elevated serum ferritin group (> or =300 ng/mL) was shorter than that in the normal serum ferritin group (<300 ng/mL, p<0.001) after a median follow-up of 25 months. In univariate analysis, elevated ferritin was correlated with poor survival in the patients (relative risk [RR], 2.588; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.536 to 4.358; p<0.001). Furthermore, multivariate analysis showed that elevated serum ferritin was an independent predictor of mortality in patients with multiple myeloma (RR, 2.594; 95% CI, 1.403 to 4.797; p=0.002). CONCLUSIONS: The serum ferritin can a prognostic parameter of survival as well as disease activity in patients with multiple myeloma.

Keyword

Ferritin; Multiple myeloma; Survival

MeSH Terms

Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
C-Reactive Protein/analysis
Female
Ferritins/*blood
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Multiple Myeloma/*blood
Prognosis
Proportional Hazards Models
beta 2-Microglobulin/blood