Abstract

Leptin, a product of the obese (ob) gene, produced in adipose tissue, is related to the control of body weight and energy expenditure. This study was carried out to demonstrate the relationship between body mass index and leptin levels in patients with solid malign tumor and to find out whether there was any difference in leptin levels after the weight loss in those patients. The study included 30 patients with confirmed solid malign tumor by biopsy. But, 18 patients completed the study. We found out a significant correlation between BMI values and leptin levels at the beginning (r= 0.796, p<0.01). Similarly, there was a significant correlation between the values of BMI and leptin levels after the weight loss (r=0.808, p<0.01). We concluded that decrease in the leptin levels occured after lost of weight is more likely to develop due to a decrease in fat mass in patients with solid malign tumor.