Serum leptin levels may have diagnostic and predictive roles in patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma treated with gemcitabine-based chemotherapy.
OBJECTIVE
Leptin is a highly pleiotropic adipokine. Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PA) and leptin relationship is important. Our aim was to investigate the serum levels of leptin in patients with PA, the relationship of leptin with tumor progression and known prognostic parameters and its diagnostic, predictive and prognostic role.


METHODS
Thirty-three patients with PA were investigated. Serum samples were obtained on first admission before treatment and follow-up. Both serum leptin levels were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Age, sex, and body mass index (BMI) matched to 20 healthy controls were included in the analysis.


RESULTS
The median patient age at diagnosis was 59 years (range 32-84) and 20 (61%) patients were men. The tumor was located in the head of pancreas in 21 (63%) patients. The most common metastatic site was liver in 23 patients with metastasis (N=19; 83%). The median follow-up time was 26.0 weeks (range 1.0-184.0). At the end of the observation period, 32 patients (97%) had died. The baseline serum leptin levels were significantly higher in patients with PA than in the control group (p=0.02). Thirty-nine percent of 23 metastatic patients who received palliative gemcitabine-based chemotherapy (gCTx) were gCTx-responsive. Serum leptin levels were significantly higher in the gCTx-unresponsive patients compared with gCTx -responsive (median 5.32 vs 1.16 ng/mL, p=0.004). Conversely, serum leptin concentration was found to have no prognostic role on survival (p=0.20).


CONCLUSIONS
Serum leptin levels may be a good diagnostic and predictive tool on the response to gCTx in PA patients.
Department of Medical Oncology, Institute of Oncology, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey.
Senem
S
Karabulut
Cigdem
C
Usul Afsar
Mehmet
M
Karabulut
Halil
H
Alis
Kayhan
K
Erturk
Sule
S
Karaman
Osman
O
Kones
Elif
E
Bilgin
Faruk
F
Tas
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D003841:Deoxycytidine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020738:Leptin / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D011379:Prognosis; D000093542:Gemcitabine
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D020738:Leptin; D003841:Deoxycytidine; D000093542:Gemcitabine