Investigation of the relationship between serum hepcidin and prohepcidin in anemia of cancer (AoC) patients with the anemia of inflammation (AI)

20644 Background: The anemia observed in cancer patients is complex and may result from a combination of causes; iron deficiency, inflammation (AI), toxicity related to therapy, marrow infiltration, dyserythropoiesis and others. Determining effective anemia treatment can therefore be complex, requiring a combination of diagnostic tests. Algorithms exist to quantify the contribution of iron deficiency versus AI but are complex and as yet unvalidated. Hepcidin, a peptide reducing iron availability for erythropoiesis is induced by inflammation, and elevated hepcidin levels may underlie functional iron deficiency in cancer patients. Hepcidin levels have been suggested as an appropriate marker of AI but in the absence of a readily available serum hepcidin assay, a commercial assay to detect prohepcidin (DRG ELISA) has been used. Several studies have attempted to establish a relationship between prohepcidin and inflammation. Here we have contrasted the quantification of prohepcidin with mature hepcidin to defin...