Serum omentin level in patients with prostate cancer

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second leading cause of cancer-related death in males. Hypertriglyceridemia and obesity are known risk factors for disease development. Omentin is a plasma adipokine that is synthesized in visceral adipose tissue; its plasma concentration changes in colorectal cancer and conditions associated with insulin resistance. To our knowledge, the relationship between omentin and PCa has not been investigated previously. Therefore, we evaluated omentin levels in PCa patients in this matched case-control study. Fifty consecutive patients newly diagnosed with PCa and 30 consecutive patients newly diagnosed with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) were assessed. Patients with PCa were divided into three subgroups according to the Gleason score. The omentin concentrations were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Blood urea nitrogen (p < 0.001), creatinine (Cr; p < 0.001), total cholesterol (p < 0.001), low-density lipoprotein (p < 0.001), and prostate-specific antigen (PSA; p = 0.03) levels were significantly higher in the PCa group than the BPH group. The median omentin level in BPH patients was 373 (207-792) versus 546.8 (297.1-945.7) ng/mL in the PCa group (p < 0.001). There was a negative weak/moderate correlation between omentin and body mass index in the BPH group (r = -0.364, p = 0.048). Circulating omentin levels were elevated in patients with PCa. Further studies would be useful to establish the mechanism underlying this increase and to assess the interaction between PCa and adipose tissue.