What to do if transferrin values are changed?
Changes in transferrin levels can have a variety of causes. For example, transferrin in the body is increased when there is an increased need for iron in the body. This is the case, for example, in pregnant and nursing women, and children and adolescents in the growth phase have an increased need for iron.
Even with a normal iron deficiency, the transferrin value increases. In most cases, it is sufficient to absorb more iron through food. For this, meat products should be eaten above all, but also green leafy vegetables, pulses, oatmeal and soya.
If the iron cannot be normalized or the ferritin value remains elevated, taking iron tablets can improve the symptoms. In rare cases, iron must be administered via the vein or an injection into the muscle. These forms of administration lead to a significantly faster absorption of the iron.A reduced transferrin level, on the other hand, is usually not so easy to treat.
It can be an indication of chronic inflammation, autoimmune diseases, iron storage diseases or tumors. In this case, a detailed diagnosis should first be made to determine the cause of the lowered transferrin level. Then an adequate therapy can be initiated.
- Nutrition for iron deficiency
- How to remedy an iron deficiency
Is ferritin also a tumor marker?
Ferritin can indicate chronic inflammation or tumor diseases in addition to iron deficiency symptoms or iron storage diseases. As an acute-phase protein, the ferritin level rises sharply in the body during acute inflammation. However, ferritin is also elevated in chronic inflammations such as autoimmune diseases.
In the case of tumor diseases, the body initially reacts in the same way as in inflammation, which is why ferritin also rises in this case. In most cases, ferritin does not form a specific tumor marker. Rather, the increased ferritin level indicates that somewhere in the body a process is underway that is being processed by the immune system.
For many general tumor diseases and blood cancers, an elevated ferritin level can be an indication. Since ferritin is mainly stored in the liver, a significantly elevated ferritin value can also indicate hepatocellular cancer. The destruction of liver cells in the course of the tumor disease releases a large amount of ferritin from the cells, which is washed out into the blood where it can be measured in elevated concentrations.
However, a tumor is by far not the only reason for damage to the liver cells. Increased ferritin can also be a sign of liver cell damage due to inflammation of the liver (hepatitis) or fatty liver (cirrhosis). Both diseases, however, favour the development of liver tumours in the course of their development and should therefore be treated early.