Change of serum iron and ferritin levels in patients with lung cancer and their correlation with inflammation

Abstract

Objective To analyze the changes of serum iron and ferritin levels in patients with lung cancer and their correlation with inflammation. Methods One hundred and forty-seven patients with newly diagnosed primary lung cancer who were admitted to Shanxi Cancer Hospital from January 2014 to June 2018 were enrolled as the observations group, and 135 healthy people who were in hospital for physical examination at the same time were selected as the control group. The serum iron levels and ferritin levels in the two groups were analyzed, and the correlation analysis between serum iron, ferritin and inflammation was performed. Results The levels of serum iron and ferritin in patients with stage I-III and IV of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in observation group were lower than those in control group (P<0.05). In the observation group, the serum iron level in patients with stage I-III of NSCLC was higher than that in patients with stage IV of NSCLC (P<0.05), and the serum ferritin level was lower than that in patients with stage IV of NSCLC (P<0.05). The level of serum iron in patients with limited stage of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) in observation group was higher than that in control group, while the serum ferritin level in patients with extensive stage of SCLC in the observation group was lower than that in the control group (P<0.05). The level of ferritin in patients with limited and extensive stage of SCLC in observation group was lower than that in control group, and the level of ferritin in patients with limited stage of SCLC was lower than that in patients with extensive stage of SCLC (P<0.05). In lung cancer patients, serum iron level was negatively correlated with C-reactive protein (CRP) level, while serum ferritin level was positively correlated with CRP level. Conclusions In patients with advanced lung cancer, serum iron levels are low and ferritin levels are high. Serum iron and serum ferritin levels in lung cancer patients change in dynamic patterns, in which inflammation plays a regulatory role. Key words: Serum iron; Ferritin; Lung cancer patients; Inflammation