Hi There,
I am interested to know why your mother is having her ferritn checked. Ferritin is a protein found in the cytoplasm of virtually all cells in the body. The function of ferritin is to store iron. About ten years ago, there was a flurry of articles looking at using multiple proteins to help screen for ovarian cancer or to track how someone with cancer was doing. Ferritin was one of multiple proteins that were looked at (For instance see the article "Combination assay of CA 125, TPA, IAP, CEA, and ferritin in serum for ovarian cancer" by Yabushita and colleagues in Gynecol Oncol volume 29 pages 66-75 , 1988.) As far as I can sort out, nothing ever came of these studies. Additionally, no one protein with the exception of CA 125 and occasionally CEA has been used to track ovarian cancers.Ca125 remains the most powerful tracking test for women with a known diagnosis of ovarian cancer. In the absence of findings based on physical exam ,CA 125 elevation, or xray studies, I am not sure I would recommend any other intervention. Ferritin , along with many other cellular proteins can reflect fluxes in the immune system, diet, and general health. It is also possible that the elevated ferritin reflects an excess in diet or vitamin supplements. I have pasted a section on iron overload below. It comes from "UpToDate"
Routine iron studies
Thank you so much for your quick answer!Actually