Photo Credit: Md Ariful Islam
The following is a summary of the study “Lipid levels and insulin resistance markers in gastric cancer patients: diagnostic and prognostic significance,” published in the October 2024 issue of Gastroenterology by Zhang et al.
Gastric cancer (GC) is an aggressive and heterogeneous tumor that poses a serious health threat worldwide. Early symptoms are often subtle, making timely diagnosis challenging. For this study, researchers aimed to explore the clinical significance of serum lipid profiles and insulin resistance markers, such as the triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index and atherosclerotic index (AI), in diagnosing and predicting outcomes for patients with GC.
Researchers conducted a retrospective analysis that included 215 patients with GC and 827 healthy individuals. The results indicated that the levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and the TyG index were significantly lower in patients with GC as compared to the control group, both before and after propensity score matching analysis. Additionally, tumor markers, including carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), carbohydrate antigen 199 (CA199), CA125, and CA724, were significantly elevated in patients with GC.
Among the patients, those in advanced stages had lower serum lipid levels and TyG index values compared to patients in earlier stages. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis showed that combining the TyG index with CA125 and CA199 resulted in a 98.6% positive predictive value for diagnosing GC. The TyG index was also linked to an increased risk of adverse reactions following chemotherapy (OR = 1.104, 95% CI 1.028–1.186, P < 0.01).
The study further revealed that a combination of tumor markers and the TyG index was associated with predicting chemotherapy-related side effects. These findings suggest that preoperative serum lipid profiles and insulin resistance markers, when combined with tumor markers, can significantly enhance diagnostic accuracy for gastric cancer and provide valuable insights into the likelihood of chemotherapy complications.
Source: bmcgastroenterol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12876-024-03463-w
