Alterations in adipose tissue in colorectal cancer patients
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Abstract
Mechanisms underlying fat loss in cancer are not well understood. Knowing the types of fat being lost from adipose tissue may help define interventions to circumvent wasting. The aim of this study was to explore the differences in adipokines and fatty acid composition between visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and subcutaneous (SAT) depots and relate this to fat mass changes (expressed as %change /100d) assessed using computed tomography images. Adipose tissue samples were obtained intraoperatively from advanced colorectal cancer patients (n=16). The findings indicate that fat was more commonly lost than gained. VAT was not preserved in cancer patients throughout the disease progression. Greater amounts of n-6 fatty acids in VAT were associated with greater fat loss in cancer patients. There were higher levels of leptin in SAT than VAT and higher monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) amounts in VAT. Future work will investigate the mechanisms of fat loss in cancer patients.