Searchable abstracts of presentations at key conferences in endocrinology
Endocrine Abstracts (2012) 29 P1210

ICEECE2012 Poster Presentations Obesity (114 abstracts)

The adipokines TNF-α and IL6 predicted incident cancer development in a Chinese community-based cohort

C. Yeung 1 , A. Tso 1 , A. Xu 1 , T. Lam 1 , S. Lo 2 , C. Fong 1 , N. Wat 1 , J. Woo 3 , B. Cheung 1 & K. Lam 1


1The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China; 2The Hospital Authority of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China; 3The Chnese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.


Adipose tissue is recognized as an active endocrine organ. Cytokines released from adipocytes induce chronic low-grade inflammation, which is linked to the development of cardiovascular diseases and malignancy.In this study, we examined the relationship between baseline adipokines level and incident cancer risk in a community-based cohort of Chinese subjects. Subjects were recruited from the Hong Kong Cardiovascular Risk Factors Prevalence Study 2(CRISPS 2) cohort. Those with known malignancy were excluded. Fasting blood forglucose, insulin, lipids, the adipokines interleukin-6 (IL6), soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor 2 (sTNFR2, as a surrogate marker of tumor necrosis factor-alpha), adiponectin and adipocyte-fatty acid binding protein (A-FABP) levels was collected at baseline. Incident cancer cases were identified after a median follow up of 9.6 years. 1897 subjects were included in the final analysis. During the study period, 94 subjects developed cancers. Compared to subjects with no cancer, subjects who developed cancer were older at baseline (61.0±11.5 vs 51.9±11.8, P<0.001), had a higher proportion of males (59.6 vs 45.9%, P=0.009), central obesity (38.3 vs 29.6%, P=0.008), diabetes (27.7 vs 14.8%, P=0.036), hypertension (36.2 vs 26.7%, P=0.045) and dyslipidemia (71.9 vs 60.6%, P=0.013). They had a higher serum level of IL6 (0.78 vs 0.58 pg/ml in male, 0.65 vs 0.54 pg/ml in female, P<0.001), sTNFR2 (2419.2 vs 1991.7 ng/ml in male, 2051.7 vs 1816.0 ng/ml in female, P<0.001) and A-FABP (21.0 vs 19.0 ng/ml in male, 24.2 vs 27.9 ng/ml in female, P=0.02). Adiponectin level between the two groups was not significantly different. After adjustment for conventional risk factors, only baseline IL6 (HR 1.51, 95% CI 1.16–1.97) and sTNFR2 (HR 2.36, 95%CI 1.16–4.81) predicted incident cancer development. Our data supported the hypothesis that chronic low grade inflammation caused by obesity could increase the risk of malignancy.

Declaration of interest: The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest that could be perceived as prejudicing the impartiality of the research project.

Funding: This work was supported, however funding details unavailable.

Volume 29

15th International & 14th European Congress of Endocrinology

European Society of Endocrinology 

Browse other volumes

Article tools

My recent searches

No recent searches.