Research
Panagou Paraskevi, Tokatlidou Zoe, Zepiridis Leonidas, Zournatzi Vasiliki
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Medical school, Thessaloniki, Greece
Correspondence: Tokatlidou Zoe, 101 Mitropoleos St, GR – 54622, Thessaloniki, Greece, E – mail: zoitokatl@yahoo.com
Abstract
Introduction: Leptin is a hormone which is related with body weight control and sexual maturation. The role of leptin in gynecological diseases is still unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate levels of leptin in women with benign and malignant tumors of the genital system and to investigate leptin as a potential diagnostic or prognostic marker for the disease course. Material and methods: Ninety – four women aged 24 – 70 years were studied; sixty – three of them were diagnosed with a genital tumor, whereas 31 were healthy controls. The 63 patients were divided in two groups: the first group comprised of 33 women with benign genital tumors and the second group comprised of 30 patients with malignant tumors of ovaries and endometrium. In all participants, serum leptin levels, weight, body mass index (BMI), leptin/BMI ratio, abdominal circumference, and femoral circumference were measured, preoperatively, and 7 days and 2 months postoperatively. Results: Serum leptin levels were statistically significantly increased among women with malignant tumors, in comparison with women with benign tumors and controls, and this difference remained significant 2 months after surgical treatment. Conclusion: Our results indicate that serum leptin levels in women with benign tumors are low, compared with patients with malignant tumors as well as controls. Leptin could be used as a potential diagnostic as well as a prognostic marker in gynecological oncology after further research.
Keywords: leptin, cancer, gynecological oncology
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