Ferritin Immunohistochemical Localization in Normal and Neoplastic Colonic Mucosa

High levels of ferritin have been detected in serum and tumoral extracts of gastrointestinal neoplasms. However, its histological localization is not well known. An immunoperoxidase technique (PAP) was used for detecting ferritin in 30 colorectal carcinomas, 20 polyps and 8 cases of non-neoplastic mucosae. Ferritin staining was detected in stromal cells (98%) much more than in epithelial cells (21%). Connective cells were positive in 5 cases of normal mucosae (62%), 19 polyps (95%) and all carcinomas (100%). The number of positive cells gradually rose from normal mucosa to carcinoma with an intermediate score in adenomas. However, no relation could be found between the stromal ferritin score and dysplasia in polyps. Likewise, no relation was found between the stromal ferritin score and the differentiation grade, invasion or metastases in carcinomas. The positive epithelial pattern seen in 12 cases (21%) suggests non-specific staining due to passive diffusion from the stroma. Thus, these immunohistochemical findings suggest that in colonic neoplasms, ferritin could be a tumor marker produced mainly by stromal cell reaction more than by the epithelial cells.

[1]  D. L. Sobin,et al.  Histological Typing of Intestinal Tumours , 1989, World Health Organization.

[2]  C. Cohen,et al.  lmmunohistochemical ferritin in testicular seminoma , 1984, Cancer.

[3]  C. Cohen,et al.  Immunohistochemical ferritin in hepatocellular carcinoma , 1984, Cancer.

[4]  R. Rossiello,et al.  Distribution of ferritin, transferrin and lactoferrin in breast carcinoma tissue. , 1984, Journal of clinical pathology.

[5]  G. Jacobsen,et al.  Ferritin (FER) in testicular germ cell tumours. An immunohistochemical study. , 2009, Acta pathologica, microbiologica, et immunologica Scandinavica. Section A, Pathology.

[6]  U. Abel,et al.  Serum ferritin in relation to the course of Hodgkin's disease , 1983, Cancer.

[7]  P. Johnson,et al.  Serum ferritin in hepatocellular carcinoma. A comparison with alphafetoprotein , 1983, Cancer.

[8]  T. Luger,et al.  Serial determination of serum ferritin levels in patients with malignant melanoma. , 1983, Oncology.

[9]  B. Silberberg,et al.  Tissue ferritin concentration in carcinoma of the breast , 1982, Cancer.

[10]  G. Mufti,et al.  Basic isoferritin and hypercalcaemia in renal cell carcinoma , 1982, Journal of clinical pathology.

[11]  M. Worwood.  Ferritin in human tissues and serum. , 1982, Clinics in haematology.

[12]  B. Hancock,et al.  Serum ferritin as a third marker in germ cell tumours. , 1982, European journal of cancer & clinical oncology.

[13]  W. Bezwoda,et al.  Significance of serum concentrations of carcinoembryonic antigen, ferritin, and calcitonin in breast cancer , 1981, Cancer.

[14]  A. Evans,et al.  Biologic differences between neuroblastoma stages IV-S and IV. Measurement of serum ferritin and E-rosette inhibition in 30 children. , 1981, The New England journal of medicine.

[15]  S. Stewart-Brown,et al.  Histopathology reporting in large bowel cancer. , 1981, Journal of clinical pathology.

[16]  G. Jacobsen,et al.  Distribution of tumor‐associated antigens in the various histologic components of germ cell tumors of the testis , 1981, The American journal of surgical pathology.

[17]  J. Skinner,et al.  Tumor‐associated antigens in polyps and carcinoma of the human large bowel , 1981, Cancer.

[18]  A. Konijn,et al.  Serum ferritin in hematologic malignancies , 1980, American journal of hematology.

[19]  P. Isaacson,et al.  Anomolous staining patterns in immunohistologic studies of malignant lymphoma. , 1979, The journal of histochemistry and cytochemistry : official journal of the Histochemistry Society.

[20]  K. Havemann,et al.  Carcinoembryonic antigen and ferritin in patients with lung cancer before and during therapy , 1978, Cancer.

[21]  C. Moroz,et al.  The significance of ferritin in malignant diseases. , 1978, Biomedicine / [publiee pour l'A.A.I.C.I.G.].

[22]  T. Bothwell,et al.  Serum and tumour ferritins in primary liver cancer. , 1978, Gut.

[23]  C. Taylor,et al.  Distribution of transferrin, ferritin, and lactoferrin in human tissues. , 1978, Journal of clinical pathology.

[24]  G. Richter.  The iron-loaded cell--the cytopathology of iron storage. A review. , 1978, The American journal of pathology.

[25]  J. Drysdale,et al.  Ferritinaemia in cancer , 1977, Nature.

[26]  P. Harrison.  Ferritin: an iron-storage molecule. , 1977, Seminars in hematology.

[27]  P. Fitzpatrick,et al.  Human isoferritins in normal and disease states. , 1977, Seminars in hematology.

[28]  P. Arosio,et al.  Immunologic differences in human isoferritins: implications for immunologic quantitation of serum ferritin. , 1977, Blood.

[29]  L. Powell,et al.  Isoferritin composition of tissues and serum in human cancers. , 1976, Cancer research.

[30]  T. Taguchi,et al.  Antiserum against leukemia cell ferritin as a diagnostic tool for malignant neoplasms. , 1975, Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

[31]  M. Worwood,et al.  Ferritin in serum. Clinical and biochemical implications. , 1975, The New England journal of medicine.

[32]  M. Worwood,et al.  Ferritin synthesis in normal and leukaemic leukocytes , 1974, Nature.

[33]  S. S. Lee,et al.  Detection of protein subunits of ferritin in situ in cells by immunofluorescence. , 1974, The American journal of pathology.

[34]  L. Sternberger,et al.  THE UNLABELED ANTIBODY ENZYME METHOD OF IMMUNOHISTOCHEMISTRY PREPARATION AND PROPERTIES OF SOLUBLE ANTIGEN-ANTIBODY COMPLEX (HORSERADISH PEROXIDASE-ANTIHORSERADISH PEROXIDASE) AND ITS USE IN IDENTIFICATION OF SPIROCHETES , 1970, The journal of histochemistry and cytochemistry : official journal of the Histochemistry Society.

[35]  W. Burnett.  An Assessment of the Value of Serum Cholinesterase as a Liver Function Test and in the Diagnosis of Jaundice , 1960, Gut.

[36]  J. French,et al.  HISTOCHEMISTRY OF CONNECTIVE TISSUE: I. THE USE OF ENZYMES AS SPECIFIC HISTOCHEMICAL REAGENTS , 1953, The journal of histochemistry and cytochemistry : official journal of the Histochemistry Society.