PURPOSE: Leptin is encoded by the ob gene and is involved in the control of food intake and energy expenditure. Recent studies have implicated leptin expression to be an indicator of tumor features and prognosis. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association of tissue expression of leptin with the clinicopathological characteristics and clinical outcomes in colorectal cancer patients. METHODS: Patients who had undergone a curative surgical resection for a colorectal adenocarcinoma from 2000 to 2004 were included in the study. Immunohistochemical analyses of leptin expression were performed, and clinicopathological parameters were evaluated. RESULTS: Clinical data and tumor tissues of 146 patients were evaluated. The mean age was 68.6 +/- 11.3 years, and 61.0% were men. Immunohistochemically, the rates of negative, weak, moderate, and strong leptin expression were 2.7% (4 of 146), 5.5% (8 of 146), 43.2% (63 of 146), and 48.6% (71 of 146), respectively. We compared the negative, weak, and moderate expression group (group A) with the strong expression group (group B). Leptin expression was inversely associated with nodal stage (P = 0.007) between the two groups. Leptin expression was not significantly associated with differentiation (P = 0.37), T stage (P = 0.16), and American Joint Committee on Cancer stage (P = 0.49), and no significant differences in the disease-free and the overall survivals (P = 0.78 and P = 0.61) were observed. CONCLUSION: Results demonstrated an inverse association of nodal stage with high leptin expression. Higher leptin expression level might predict better oncologic outcome. However, further studies are warranted to identify the exact role of leptin expression in colorectal cancer.
Adenocarcinoma ; Colorectal Neoplasms* ; Eating ; Energy Metabolism ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Joints ; Leptin* ; Male ; Prognosis ; Survival Rate ; Tissue Array Analysis

PURPOSE: Anastomotic leakage in colorectal surgery is a very important issue. Although many studies have shown the positive effects of enteral glutamine (Gln) on anastomotic healing, none has assessed the effects of administering Gln via an enema for anastomotic healing. To fill this study gap, this study investigated the intraluminal effect of administration of Gln enema on the healing of colonic anastomosis in a rat model. METHODS: Thirty Wistar albino rats were divided into three groups containing 10 rats each and were subjected to distal left colon transection and anastomosis. Postoperatively, group I (the control group) was administered no treatment, group II was administered daily placebo enemas containing physiological saline, and group III was administered daily 2% L-Gln enemas. After sacrifice on postoperative day 5, anastomotic healing, burst pressure, tissue hydroxyproline levels, and histological parameters were measured, and group values were compared via statistical analysis. RESULTS: Group III was found to have the highest mean bursting pressure and tissue hydroxyproline levels and the lowest mean ischemia score. While the values of these parameters were not found to differ significantly among the groups, the lack of significance may have been due to the limited number of subjects examined. CONCLUSION: Administration of a Gln enema may have a positive effect on anastomosis in terms of bursting pressure and histopathological parameters. Future research should examine administration of a preoperative Gln enema as a means of decreasing the traumatic effects of the enema and identifying its applicability in surgical practice.
Anastomosis, Surgical ; Anastomotic Leak ; Animals* ; Colon* ; Colorectal Surgery ; Enema* ; Glutamine* ; Hydroxyproline ; Ischemia ; Models, Animal ; Rats

No abstract available.
Colorectal Surgery*

No abstract available.
Colorectal Neoplasms* ; Leptin*

No abstract available.
Glutamine*

No abstract available.
Aged* ; Humans ; Quality of Life*

No abstract available.
Colorectal Surgery* ; Intra-Abdominal Fat*

No abstract available.
Prone Position*

No abstract available.
Colon* ; Colonic Neoplasms* ; Electrons*

No abstract available.
Colorectal Neoplasms* ; Neoplasms, Second Primary*