Ferritin as a Tumor Marker of Breast Cancer is Correlated with Tumor Severity

Introduction:Ferritin, a major iron storage and detoxificationprotein, released from hepatocytes upon inflammatory stimulation [۱]. Serumferritin arises from damaged cells, and is thus a marker of cellular damage.Recently, ferritin blood level has been introduced as a noninvasive tool forpredicting breast cancer, the most commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide [۲]. Atpresent, CA۱۵۳ and CEA are serum tumor markers for monitoring metastatic breastcancer in clinic based on the ۲۰۰۷ edition of American Society of ClinicalOncology (ASCO) guidelines [۲]. In this preliminary study, we considered ifferritin level is different in various molecular subtypes of breast cancerpatients.Methods:Ferritin was measured in plasma samples of۱۳ breast cancer patients withmolecular subtype of luminal B (n=۴), luminal A (n=۴), HER۲-enriched (n=۳)and triple negative (n=۲) using ELISA. Results: There was asignificant increase in the levels of serum ferritin across the differentgroups of study, according to the severity of histopathology results. Thehighest mean level of ferritin was detected in Luminal B (۱۶۷.۵ ng/ml) incomparison with other subtypes of Luminal A (۸۴.۲ ng/ml), triple negative (۵۹.۵ng/ml) and Her۲-enriched (۵۲.۶ ng/ml) groups. The mean age in years indifferent groups were ۵۸.۲, ۴۸, ۵۹.۵ and ۵۲.۶ years, respectively. Four participantswere post-menopausal. Discussion: The serum ferritin is elevated in inflammationand cancers. This is related to its enhanced synthesis in macrophages [۳]. The luminal B subtype is usually a higher grade and has a worseprognosis than the luminal A subtype [۴]. Accordingly, our results showed that ferritin hashigher level in Luminal B than other molecular types of luminal A,Her۲-enriched and triple negative. Higher level of ferritin with ۱۰۰ ng/ml ormore correlates with Ki-۶۷ proliferative index cut-off of ۲۲%. Thisfinding may indicate that higher ferritin level correlates with a more severeform of breast cancer. References: ۱) Moreira, A.C.; Mesquita, G.; Gomes, M.S. Ferritin: An Inflammatory Player Keeping Iron at the Core of Pathogen-Host Interactions. Microorganisms ۲۰۲۰, ۸, ۵۸۹. ۲) Xufeng Yao , Hezhang Sha , Xiang He , Lu Gan , Xiaoyi Wang , Qiao Cheng. Serum Ferritin is a Novel Predictive Marker for Breast Cancer Metastasis and the Combination with CA۱۵۳ Optimizes Metastasis Monitoring. Journal of Biological Regulators and Homeostatic Agents. ۲۰۲۴, ۳۸(۱): ۶۳۵-۶۴۵. ۳) George A, Bobby Z, Dubashi B. Utility of ferritin and inflammatory biomarkers in the diagnosis of different stages of breast cancer. Saudi Med J. ۲۰۲۱ Aug;۴۲(۸):۸۲۵-۸۳۱. ۴) WHO. Classification of Tumors Editorial Board. In Breast Tumors, ۵th ed.; IARC: Lyon, France, ۲۰۱۹.

کلیدواژه ها:

Ferritin ، Breast cancer ، Tumor Marker ، ELISA