Serum ferritin and primary lung cancer

Existing research yields conflicting results regarding the relation between iron deficiency and high serum ferritin (SF) levels in primary lung cancer patients. We investigated the concentrations of SF, hemoglobin (Hb) and transferrin (TRF) in 569 male primary lung cancer patients and 252 female primary lung cancer patients. We grouped the subjects according to gender, smoking status, menopausal status, pathological type, stage, and TNM stage. The levels of SF and TRF were correlated with T stage in male patients (p<0.01). The levels of SF and TRF were correlated with menopausal status in female patients (p<0.01). Hb was correlated with smoking status, pathological type, stage, and TNM stages in male patients(p<0.01), but in female patients, Hb was not correlated with these grouping factors(p>0.05). The levels of SF may be regulated by different mechanisms and may be of different physiological significance in different populations.