The following is a summary of “Ferritin and Iron Levels Inversely Associated With Lymphoma Risk: A Mendelian Randomization Study,” published in the October 2024 issue of Hematology by Wu. 

Knowledge on iron’s role in lymphoma is limited, and findings are inconsistent. 

Researchers conducted a prospective study to analyze the association between iron storage and lymphoma risk using a 2-sample Mendelian randomization approach. 

They used genetic data from a genome-wide association study (GWAS) with 257,953 individuals to identify single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) linked to iron storage. This data was analyzed alongside lymphoma case and control data from the IEU open GWAS project, which included 3,546 lymphoma cases and 487,257 controls. An inverse variance-weighted method with random effects was applied to assess the relationship between iron storage and lymphoma risk, with additional sensitivity analyses. 

The results showed a genetic predisposition to higher ferritin, and serum iron was associated with lower lymphoma odds. Ferritin had an odds ratio (OR) of 0.777 (95% CI: 0.628 – 0.961, P = 0.020), indicating a 22.3% reduced lymphoma risk for a one standard deviation increase in ferritin. Serum iron showed an OR of 0.776 (95% CI: 0.609 – 0.989, P = 0.040), reflecting a 22.4% decreased lymphoma risk for a one standard deviation increase in serum iron. 

The study concluded that individuals with genes linked to higher iron storage had a lower lymphoma risk. They recommended further research before clinical application. 

Source: thejh.org/index.php/jh/article/view/1335