Adiponectin and resistin are associated with risk for myelodysplastic syndrome, independently from the insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) system.

OBJECTIVE

Obesity has been implicated in the aetiology of myelogenous leukaemia and myelodysplasia (MDS). We hypothesised that altered secretion of adiponectin and resistin may underlie this association. We thus investigated the role of both total and high molecular weight (HMW) adiponectin and resistin in MDS.

METHODS

In a case-control study, we studied 101 cases with incident, histologically confirmed primary MDS and 101 controls matched on gender and age between 2004 and 2007. Total and HMW adiponectin, resistin, insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) and insulin-like growth factor binding protein (IGFBP-3) were determined.

RESULTS

Lower serum total or HMW adiponectin and/or resistin levels were independently associated with higher risk of MDS controlling for age, gender, BMI and serum levels of leptin, IGF-I and IGFBP-3 (p<0.002). Although total and HMW adiponectin were both significantly inversely associated with MDS when modelled either in quartiles or continuously, HMW did not offer any substantial additional predictive value over total adiponectin (Odds ratio (OR)=0.91 versus 0.93 for a 1 microg/ml change, respectively). IGF-I was positively associated with MDS by bivariate analysis and both IGF-I and IGFBP-3 were higher in advanced MDS and higher risk stages, but were not significantly and independently associated with MDS.

CONCLUSIONS

Total and HMW adiponectin may have a protective role in MDS, whereas resistin levels may be decreased via a compensatory mechanism.