The role of serum total ghrelin level elevation in colon cancer patients

Many studies have pointed out a possible role of ghrelin, in the pathogenesis and natural history of gastrointestinal tract malignancies. The objective of this study was to estimate serum total ghrelin levels (STGL) in patients with colon cancer (CC) and to evaluate the value of this assay in research and clinical practice.

STGL were measured pre-operatively in 95 CC patients and in 39 healthy controls, and were correlated with patients' age, gender, body mass index (BMI), tumor location, Dukes stage, grade of differentiation and patients' survival.

STGL were significantly elevated in patients with CC (127.6±34.5 pmol/L) vs healthy controls (89.3±19 pmol/L, p<0.05). STGL were significantly higher in endstage (180±10 pmol/L) vs initial-stage CC (94.2±22.6 pmol/L; p<0.05). Furthermore, patients with poorly differentiated tumors had statistically significantly higher STGL (144.5±30.7 pmol/L) compared to those with well (91.8±23.6 pmol/L) or moderately well (126±34 pmol/L) differentiated CC cases (p<0.05). No statistically significant differences in the patients' STGL were noticed with respect to their demographic/ clinical characteristics, tumor location and survival (p>0.05).

The obtained results showed a link between elevated STGL and CC, suggesting that colon tumors contribute to ghrelin's production.