Hyperferritinemia in ovarian cancer.

A prospective study was conducted on 50 women with ovarian cancer to determine the association of elevated serum ferritin and ovarian cancer and its potential as a tumor marker. The controls consisted of 116 healthy volunteers, 51 patients with benign gynecologic tumors and 15 patients with benign liver disease. The mean ferritin level in patients with ovarian cancer was 436.7 ng/mL, significantly higher than that in the controls. The effect of chronology on the serum ferritin was also investigated. Hyperferritinemia was observed in 25 (50.0%) of 50 patients with ovarian carcinoma. In patients with liver metastases a marked increase in ferritin was noted. The rate of ferritin elevation in patients with epithelial carcinoma and no hepatic involvement was 21.4%.