Abstract
PurposeThe objectives of this work were to investigate whether the serum-free fatty acid (FFA) level is meaningful in cancer patients and its role in cancer diagnosis.MethodsA total of 2206 patients were divided into a cancer group (n = 1019) and a noncancer group (n = 1187). Age, sex, body mass index (BMI), and serum FFA and serum albumin levels were collected. Cancer patients were divided into subgroups according to the location of the cancer. We then compared serum FFA levels among the tumor subgroups. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to further evaluate the diagnostic ability of the FFA level. SPSS 22.0 software was used to analyze the results.ResultsThe FFA level was higher in the cancer group than in the noncancer group. According to the multivariate analysis, there was also an increased risk of cancer associated with a high FFA level after adjusting for old age, female sex, and a low BMI. In the subgroup analysis, the FFA level in patients with lung cancer, gastric cancer, thyroid cancer, rectal cancer, colon cancer, and ovarian cancer was significantly higher than that in noncancer patients. The area under the effect–time curve (AUC) of FFAs in the whole cancer group was 0.58, while the thyroid cancer, rectal cancer, and ovarian cancer subgroups had AUCs > 0.6.ConclusionOur study provides clinical evidence to support that fatty acid metabolism is associated with cancers and demonstrates that a high FFA level in the serum may be an indicator of cancer.
Highlights
It is estimated that there were 18.1 million new cases and 9.6 million cancer deaths worldwide in 2018 according to global cancer statistics (Bray et al 2018)
We found that in some cancer patients, the free fatty acid (FFA) level was elevated even when TGs and total cholesterol (TCHO) were normal, and a high FFA level may be the only abnormality in biochemical tests
We investigated whether the FFA level was meaningful between cancer and noncancer patients and found that the FFA level was higher in cancer patients than in noncancer patients
Summary
It is estimated that there were 18.1 million new cases and 9.6 million cancer deaths worldwide in 2018 according to global cancer statistics (Bray et al 2018). Cancer stage is directly related to mortality (Edwards et al 2014; Howlader et al 2014; Dianatinasab et al 2018). Presymptomatic screening is related to early stage diagnosis and improved outcomes (Plumb et al 2016; Inari et al 2017). By increasing the cancer screening rates in those who are most likely to develop cancer, we can provide them with a definite opportunity to reduce mortality (Stich and Berlan 2004).
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