Elevated serum iron correlated to PCa

I have been reviewing my past blood work from the nineties and onward.

I noticed that my serum iron count had always been 2-17% higher than the max normal value. My recent, post-RP, test revealed a surge to +36%.

Google search brought up a number of publications correlating high iron and PCa.

To mention a few:

academic.oup.com/nar/articl...

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

Please comment.

[Tall_Allen]

I don't understand why you think any of those are relevant - perhaps you can explain? High hemoglobin levels are often a result of high testosterone or overactive thyroid - have you checked those?

[Hidden in reply to Tall_Allen]

Probably was not clear enough Tall Allen.

In fact my hemoglobin is a bit low now at 13 g/dl, but prior to RP has always been within normal range (13.5-18 g/dl).

My post was referring to the IRON content in serum which was found increased after RP.

My iron counts over the years have been:

1994 = >162 μg/dl

2011 => 169 μg/dl

2012 => 187 μg/dl

2014 => 164 μg/dl

now => 217 μg/dl

(typically normal values 60-160 μg/dl)

This excerpt will give you the missing explanation:

"Iron is used by cancer cells for important biochemical reactions, such as DNA synthesis, mitochondrial metabolism, tumor proliferation through increased angiogenesis, and metastasis (8). In PCa, iron is also important for tumor proliferation. Similar to other cancers, PCa cells need iron for their survival, including the use of iron for the activity of enzymes that control androgen receptor (AR) transcriptional activity, which is a known promoter of PCa (9). What is more, iron is needed by PCa cells to “reorganize” the intracellular enzymatic activity in order to increase energy production and extracellular matrix degradation (10, 11). Clinical data suggest that, in PCa, there is an increased iron sequestration in cancer cells, while in normal cells adjacent to PCa cells iron levels are low (12, 13)."

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

Consequently, I am facing an egg-chicken dilemma regarding the following two:

Did the presence of high iron serum content promote PCa, or PCa was always there normally advancing and consuming iron, while now that the prostate is excised there is less consumption, hence more excess to circulate ?

Its a pity that I don't have an iron test just before RP.

It could throw the balance one way or the other.

I also intend to take the necessary tests for hereditary haemochromatosis.

My mother died from liver cancer. There may be a connection here (excessive iron stored into the liver).

[j-o-h-n in reply to Hidden]

MAYO CLINIC: FERRITIN

A ferritin test measures the amount of ferritin in your blood. Ferritin is a blood cell protein that contains iron. A ferritin test helps your doctor understand how much iron your body is storing.

If a ferritin test reveals that your blood ferritin level is lower than normal, it indicates your body's iron stores are low and you have iron deficiency.

If a ferritin test shows higher than normal levels, it could indicate that you have a condition that causes your body to store too much iron. It could also point to liver disease, rheumatoid arthritis, other inflammatory conditions or hyperthyroidism. Some types of cancer also may cause your blood ferritin level to be high.

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n Monday 10/28/2019 5:17 PM DST

[cajeffrey]

My husbands prostate cancer was diagnosed when blood work showed a very high ferritin level. The doctor did a ct scan to check the liver and the scan showed several enlarged lymph nodes and the rest is history.

No one paid much attention to the the high ferritin levels once the PCA diagnosis was made, but reading I did showed that the body will sequester iron in the presence of disease in order to prevent the iron from being used by whatever disease is present ie cancer. (they ruled out hemachromatosis). It concerns me that several times my husbands blood work has shown high ferritin and no doctors made the link or bothered to find out why. One of the studies you posted actually shows that high ferritin the the blood can be a predictor of PCA,