Background/Aim: Because leptin is a hormone associated with obesity and
reproduction, we attempted to examine whether there is a relationship
between leptin and endometrial cancer. Methods: Cases were 84 women with
histologically confirmed incident endometrial cancer, whereas controls
were 84 women admitted to the same hospital for small surgical
operations. The serum leptin levels were determined in fasting morning
blood samples by using radioimmunoassay. The mean values of leptin
levels among cases and controls were compared with simple t test, and
the data were further analyzed using multiple logistic regression
procedures. Results: The serum leptin levels were 36.7 +/- (SD) 25.7
ng/ml among cases and 26.9 +/- 19.8 ng/ml among controls (p = 0.006).
After adjustment for known risk factors of endometrial cancer,
components of the insulin-like growth factor system did not confound the
association of leptin with endometrial cancer, but this association was
eliminated, when the body mass index was adjusted for. Thus, the odds
ratio for an increment of 1 SD of blood leptin was 1.52 (p = 0.03)
before adjustment for body mass index, but only 1.13 (p = 0.62) after
adjustment for it. Conclusions: In a case-control study of incident
endometrial cancer in Greece, we found evidence that leptin is strongly
positively associated with endometrial cancer. It cannot be conclusively
inferred, however, whether leptin elevation, as a consequence of
obesity, plays a role in endometrial carcinogenesis or whether it is a
simple correlate of obesity. Copyright (C) 2002 S. Karger AG, Basel
