effect of serum ferritin level on the response to standard chemotherapy in acute myeloid leukemia patients

Background :a high ferritin level in acute myeloid leukemia (aml) patients acts as a growth factor for leukemic cells, and its antioxidant effect may reduce the effectiveness of cytotoxic chemotherapy drugs, including anthracyclines.methods :all adult patients with aml from 2013 to 2023, who had received 7+3 chemotherapy protocol at namazi and amir hospitals in shiraz provided that ferritin and c-reactive protein (crp) level were checked before chemotherapy were included. we evaluated complete remission rate, overall survival (os) and event-free survival (efs) in 67 new cases. results :the efs was significantly longer in patients with serum ferritin levels below 1000 ng/ml compared to those with serum ferritin levels of 1000 ng/ml or higher [estimated mean and 95% ci: 25.65 (19.29 - 32) vs 11.6 (8.19 - 15.13) months, p = 0.018]. conclusions :ferritin levels at diagnosis are indicative of patient survival. the aml patients with serum ferritin levels greater than 1000 experienced shorter efs compared to those with ferritin levels below 1000.