Correlation between serum ferritin levels and liver iron concentration determined by MR imaging: impact of hematologic disease and inflammation

Liver iron concentration was determined in 28 patients by magnetic resonance imaging using the method of Gandon et al. (Non-invasive assessment of hepatic iron stores by MRI. Lancet 2004;363:357-362). The result showed a significant correlation with blood plasma ferritin content (Spearman's r=.66; P<.001) and a slightly improving correlation coefficient when limited to those patients not known to have inflammation (r=.82; n=17; P<.001). Zooming in on patients with hematologic disease also had a beneficial effect on the correlation between liver iron content and plasma ferritin level (r=.79; n=13; P=.001). It is concluded that in patients without inflammation and in patients with hematologic disease, the content of ferritin in blood is a better predictor of liver iron content than in other patient categories.