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The relationship between sarcopenia and serum irisin and TNF-α levels in newly diagnosed cancer patients

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Abstract

Objective

Sarcopenia in patients with cancer makes patients physically weak and adversely affects their compliance with treatment. In this study, we investigated the relationship between sarcopenia in patients with cancer and circulating irisin and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) levels.

Material and method

A total of 141 patients with different types of newly diagnosed cancer were divided into two groups, sarcopenia (n = 72) and non-sarcopenia (n = 69) groups. The body compositions of the patients were measured using bioelectrical impedance (BIA) and muscle strength using hand grip strength (HGS) tests. Serum irisin and TNF-α levels were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Results

In our study, serum irisin levels were found to be significantly lower (p < 0.01) and TNF-α levels were found to be significantly higher (p = 0.014) in the sarcopenia group. Skeletal muscle index (SMI) and HGS values and serum irisin levels were positively correlated [(r: 0.451, p < 0.001), (r: 0.469, p < 0.001)], and SMI and HGS values and serum TNF-α levels were negatively correlated [(r: -0.181, p = 0.032) and (r: -0.143, p = 0.090), respectively]. In addition, multiple linear regression analysis showed that serum irisin and TNF-α levels were independent predictors of sarcopenia.

Conclusion

Serum irisin levels were found to be significantly lower in patients with cancer with sarcopenia, and TNF-α levels were found to be significantly higher. These two markers can be used as potential biomarkers for the diagnosis of sarcopenia in patients with cancer. The efficacy and possible mechanisms of action of irisin and TNF-α in the diagnosis of sarcopenia should be investigated with larger patient groups.

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Data availability

All core data are available upon request.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge Ahmet Alacacıoğlu for his contribution to our study.

Funding

The authors did not receive support from any organization for the submitted work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Biochemistry, Izmir Katip Celebi University Ataturk Training and Research Hospital, Izmir, Turkey

    Leyla Demir

  2. Department of Medical Oncology, Ataturk Training and Research Hospital, Izmir Katip Çelebi University, Izmir, Turkey

    Utku Oflazoğlu

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  1. Leyla Demir
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Contributions

All the authors contributed to the conception and design of the study. Utku Oflazoğlu and Leyla Demir performed the data collection and analysis. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Leyla Demir and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All the authors have read and approved the fnal manuscript.

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Correspondence to Leyla Demir.

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Approval for our study was obtained from the Izmir Katip Celebi University Clinical Research Ethics Committee (26.05.2022-Decision No: 37).

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Informed consent was obtained from all participants.

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Informed consent for publication was obtained from all participants.

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Demir, L., Oflazoğlu, U. The relationship between sarcopenia and serum irisin and TNF-α levels in newly diagnosed cancer patients. Support Care Cancer 31, 586 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-023-08041-6

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