Objective: To study the relationship of serum iron and ferritin with the indicators for hepatic fibrosis and hepatic iron overload.
Methods: Liver tissue specimens were obtained from 41 patients with benign (16) or malignant (25) liver diseases by 1 second liver biopsy, and routine microscopic examination was performed after haematoxylin-eosin (HE) and Perl's Prussian staining. Atomic absorption spectrum, radioimmunoassay and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay were respectively employed to examine the serum levels of iron, ferritin, hyaluronic acid, laminin, human procollagen type , and collagen type .
Results: Between patients with benign and malignant liver diseases, significant differences were found in the serum ferritin levels (P < 0.05), but not in serum iron levels (P > 0.05). It was also noted that the levels of the indicators for hepatic fibrosis in patients with benign and early-stage malignant diseases varied significantly from the levels in normal subjects, but these differences were not observed between normal subjects and patients with end-stage hepatic malignancies. Serum iron and ferritin were found to be associated with serum laminin levels (serum iron: r=0.439, P=0.031; serum ferritin: r=0.476, P=0.016), and no iron granules detected in the tissue specimens of hepatocellular carcinoma.
Conclusions: Most of the patients with hepatocellular carcinoma have elevated serum ferritin levels. The serum levels of iron and ferritin are statistically correlated with serum laminin level. Obvious reduction of iron content is typical of hepatic malignant tissues in comparison with the benign tissues, and the reduction in the levels of the indicators for hepatic fibrosis might involve the inhibition of collagen synthesis in the tumor tissues from patients with end-stage hepatocellular carcinoma. Most of the cases of alcoholic fatty liver are complicated by liver iron overload, often marked by serum iron and ferritin levels.