(RxWiki News) Maybe you've heard about leptin as it relates to weight control. Leptin is a hormone that the body's fat cells produce, and scientists believe it may play a role in cancer. Is this true for uterine (also known as endometrial) cancer?
A very small study out of Turkey has found that the amount of leptin found in the blood does not affect the course of uterine cancer.
"Develop a cancer screening plan with your doctor."
Researchers from the Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine in Ankara, Turkey worked with 30 women with endometrial cancer and 30 women who did not have the disease. The study was conducted between November, 2008 and July, 2009.
The women with uterine cancer had surgical staging of their disease, including the removal of lymph nodes.
Researchers compared leptin levels of the women with cancer prior to surgery with the levels of the hormone in the healthy women.
Investigators also looked at and evaluated how leptin levels related to the stage of cancer, tumor grade, type and the lymph node status (if cancer had spread to nearby lymph nodes).
This analysis found that the serum (blood) leptin levels in women with endometrial cancer were similar to those of women without the disease.
Leptin did not have any significant relationship with the type, stage, grade or lymph node status in endometrial cancer.
This research was published in the July issue of the European Journal of Gynaecological Oncology.
No financial information was made available to the public.
