Abstract
Background: Omentin has recently been considered as an adipokine secreted from visceral fat and is expressed in the lungs, heart, ovary etc. Various studies have shown that omentin may have an anti-inflammatory role in the inflammatory process and the amount of omentin alters in some cancers, such as colorectal, prostate and renal cells cancers, changes. The serum level of omentin, however, remains unknown in non-patient smokers and the smokers afflicted with lung cancer. Therefore, this study examines the serum levels of omentin in smokers suffering from lung cancer. Methods: The amount of serum omentin was measured in 45 patients with lung cancer and 61 age - and sex - matched controls (30 smokers and 31 non-smokers) using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit. Data were analyzed using SPSS-16, and oneway analysis of variance and Scheffe post hoc test were used to determine and compare the serum levels of omentin in different types of lung malignancies. Significance level was set at p≤0.05. Results: The amount of circulating omentin for healthy non-smokers and non-patient smokers was 3.55±0.57 ng/l and 5.43±1.95 ng/l, respectively (p<0.001). The serum level of omentin was 3.63±0.70 ng/l for smokers afflicted with cancer (p<0.001 compared with nonpatient smokers: 5.43±1.95). Conclusion: The meaningful decrease in omentin levels in smokers with lung cancer can be considered as a risk factor in smokers and can use as a significant factor in the prognosis of lung cancer in these people.