Leptin levels in serum depending on Body Mass Index in patients with endometrial hyperplasia and cancer

Objectives: Concentrations of leptin, a hormone secreted by white adipose tissue, correlate strongly with body mass. Leptin interacts with several other hormones, modifies the activities of some enzymes and proinflammatory cytokines, participates in hematopoiesis, thermogenesis, and angiogenesis, and is involved in the control of carbohydrate and lipid metabolism. This study was undertaken to determine whether serum concentrations of leptin in obese patients with endometrial hyperplasia and cancer deviate from values in patients with normal endometrium. Study design: We enrolled 86 obese postmenopausal women, including 40 with endometrial cancer and hyperplasia and 46 with normal endometrium. Depending on BMI, three subgroups were formed: I < 30; II = 30-40; III > 40. Leptin concentrations were measured with immunoenzymatic test kits from IBL. Statistical comparison was done with the chi square (chi(2)) test and Statistica software package. Results: Mean serum concentration of leptin in endometrial cancer and hyperplasia was 16737.1 pg/ml as opposed to 9048.7 pg/ml in patients without endometrial pathology (p < 0.0001). Significantly, higher concentrations of leptin were noted in every BMI subgroup of patients with endometrial pathology in comparison to controls (p < 0.005). Conclusions: Leptin appears to participate in proliferative processes of the endometrium. Obesity is an important risk factor in endometrial cancer. (c) 2006 Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.