Lack of body iron after total gastrectomy for adenocarcinoma of the stomach: a serum ferritin follow-up.

The postoperative evaluation over two years of body iron stores by measurement of serum ferritin concentrations in 43 patients who underwent total gastrectomy, for adenocarcinoma of the stomach showed that more than 50% of the patients had depleted iron stores. The iron stores were often already depleted preoperatively and were only slightly reduced postoperatively according to the time since surgery. Total gastrectomy produced an acute and significant increase in subnormal, but not in normal or high, serum ferritin concentrations, for a period of three months. Some, although not all, patients presenting metastasis during follow-up showed an increase in serum ferritin concentrations. This study would indicate that empty iron stores are common in patients with adenocarcinoma of the stomach, that total gastrectomy produces an acute increase in subnormal serum ferritin values, but iron stores are not replaced during follow-up and that high serum ferritin concentrations are rarely seen in patients with adenocarcinoma of the stomach.