Elevated Serum Leptin Levels are Associated With an Increased Risk of Sentinel Lymph Node Metastasis in Cutaneous Melanoma.

ABSTRACT: The metabolic hormone leptin has been implicated in the pathogenesis of various malignancies and may contribute to the high rate of cancer in obese individuals. We reported that leptin and its receptor are expressed by melanoma tumors and cell lines, and that leptin stimulates proliferation of cultured melanoma cells. Here, we tested the hypothesis that leptin contributes to early melanoma progression by assessing its association with sentinel node positivity in cutaneous melanoma patients. The study enrolled 72 patients who were scheduled to undergo lymphatic mapping and sentinel node biopsy. Fasting blood was obtained before surgery, and serum leptin levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with a "raw" (assay value) and an "adjusted" value (raw value divided by

SUBMITTER: Oba J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4839916 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature