Significance of ferritin as a marker in head and neck malignancies.

The efficiency of the combination of two tumor-associated antigens in recognising head and neck cancer was evaluated. The markers studied were CEA and ferritin by radioimmunoassay. CEA was estimated in 22 controls and 41 head and neck cancer patients. There was no difference in CEA values of controls and head and neck cancer patients, suggesting that CEA was not specific for head and neck malignancies. We measured serum ferritin in 27 controls and 58 patients with head and neck cancer. The mean ferritin level was significantly higher in patients (P less than 0.001) than in normal subjects. The ferritin level in patients with no evidence of clinical disease 8 months after treatment showed approximately normal levels, whereas the levels showed a tendency to increase or remain at high levels in patients with a poor prognosis, giving support to the contention that ferritin may prove to be a valuable adjunct in head and neck cancer.