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

WOS: 000338407700009PubMed ID: 24965396Purpose: 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. Methods: 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. Results: STGL were significantly elevated in patients with CC (127.6 +/- 34.5 pmol/L) vs healthy controls (89.3 +/- 19 pmol/L, p0.05). Conclusions: The obtained results showed a link between elevated STGL and CC, suggesting that colon tumors contribute to ghrelin's production