Ferritinemia in ovarian malignant tumours

Seriated ferritin assays were carried out on 95 patients affected by primitive ovarian epithelial tumour over a period of three years (1979/82), by radioimmunometric assay for human spleen ferritin. Ferritin was elevated in endometrioid tumours and in the presence of active progressing disease and chemotherapy did not influence these values. The ferritin/sideremia ratio was high in the case with pathological levels. Studying the glicosilation of this protein a significant amount of ferritin was not bound to concavallin A, suggesting direct release of this protein by tumour cells.