Abstract
BACKGROUND: Adipokine secretion is influenced by various disease conditions. PURPOSE: We wanted to check the impact of rectal carcinoma (RC) on adipokine profile. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We evaluated serum leptin and adiponectin levels in 24 RC patients (12 males and 12 females) as well as in the same number of age, sex and weight-matched healthy controls. RESULTS: Adipokines were oppositely correlated with body weight (BW) in controls and RC patients. Women had higher adipokine levels than men. Healthy controls had higher leptin (37.6.±7.8 vs. 7.9±2.6 ng/mL in women and 11.9±4.6 vs. 1.4±0.34 ng/mL in men, p=0.0016 and 0.043) and lower adiponectin levels (9.3±1.1 vs. 14.9±1.1 µg/mL in women and 7.9±0.9 vs. 11.1±0.9 µg/mL in men, p=0.012 and 0.017) than RC patients. CONCLUSION: Adipokine profiles of patients with RC differ from the healthy population, possibly reflecting an adaptation to the disease rather than a triggering factor. These differences may find clinical applications for the prognosis of disease evolution.