ROLE OF SERUM FERRITIN IN ASSESSMENT OF DISEASE-ACTIVITY IN ACUTE ANDCHRONIC LEUKEMIA

Serum ferritin (SF) was estimated using double antibody sandwitch ELIS A in 83 patients of acute and chronic leukemia at various stages of th e disease. In 35 patients of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in rem ission, the SF levels fell significantly from 550.63 ng/ml at presenta tion to 319.56 ng/ml but remained significantly higher than the contro l values of 46.14 ng/ml. In 28 patients of acute myeloid leukemia (AML ), the SF values at 775.0 ng/ml were much higher than those in ALL pat ients and showed no decline with remission. This pattern was also seen in patients of chronic myeloid leukemia in blast crisis (CML-BC) with SF levels of 804.03 ng/ml at presentation and 717.43 ng/ml at partial remission. The values of SF were lowest in patients of CML in chronic phase ranging from 271.5 ng/ml to 332.12 ng/ml and showed no relation ship with variation in total leucocyte count. No correlation was found between SF values and various clinical and laboratory parameters such as age, sex, fever, organomegaly, haemoglobin and total leucocyte cou nt. Thus, while there appeared to be a correlation between remission a nd SF values in ALL, no suck correlation existed between the activity of the disease and SF in other types of leukemia.