Abstract B35: Association between acute leukemias and levels of leptin in blood: A meta-analysis

Abstract Background: Leptin, a secretory protein of adipocytes, shown to induce differentiation, proliferation, anti-apoptotic and activation of hematopoietic cells through paracrine interaction in the bone marrow microenvironment. Existing literature provides conflicting evidence as to the association between levels of serum leptin and acute leukemia's. Purpose: The aim of this study is to conduct a meta-analysis to investigate the association between serum leptin levels and presence of acute leukemia's. Methods: We searched MEDLINE, CIINHAL and COCHRANE databases for studies reporting serum leptin levels in the peripheral blood and bone marrow with and without acute leukemia's [Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)/Acute myleogenous leukemia (AML)]. We included case controls, cohort and cross-sectional studies. We calculated the weighted standardized mean difference (SMD) in serum leptin levels between the acute leukemia's patients and control groups. Results: Our search strategy yielded 70 articles and we included 10 studies enrolling 354 participants with 176 patients and 178 controls of matched age, sex and BMI (body mass index). We included 108 ALL patients compared with 126 controls and136 AML patients compared with 104 controls. The median age of the ALL and AML group compared to controls was 8.12 yrs. (IQR 7.17 - 26.25) and 42 yrs. (IQR 28.8 – 52.88). The median percentage of females of ALL and AML compared to controls was 45 (IQR 27 – 66) and 52.5 (IQR 47 – 60). The unweighted median serum leptin levels in the ALL and AML groups were 21.2 ng/ml (13.4 – 27.4) and 29.9 ng/ml (5.55 – 55.83) compared to 9.43 ng/ml (6.6 – 17.8) and 31.5 ng/ml (6.43 – 89.77) in the control groups. The SMD's of having abnormal serum leptin levels of ALL and AML compared to controls was 1.27 (95% CI 0.53 - 2.00) P = 0.001 and – 0.97 (95% CI -1.39 - -0.55) P <0.001. Conclusion: Increased and decreased serum leptin levels are significantly associated with ALL and AML respectively. Further investigation into the molecular mechanism underlying leptin's role in acute leukemia's and its use as an adjunctive screening tool are warranted. Citation Format: Vijaya SenaReddy Dendi, Sivakanth Aloor, Rahul Gadde, Kranthi Kunkalla, Roopesh Reddy Sadashiva Reddy, Jeffrey Gryn. Association between acute leukemias and levels of leptin in blood: A meta-analysis. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference: Metabolism and Cancer; Jun 7-10, 2015; Bellevue, WA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Res 2016;14(1_Suppl):Abstract nr B35.