ABSTRACT

Objective:

The pleural effusions may be caused by malignant or benign diseases. In this study, it was aimed to determine the serum and pleural leptin levels in non-malignant and malignant pleural effusions.

Methods:

Patients with non-malignant (n=20) and malignant pleural effusions (n=20), and healthy control group (n=20) were included in this cross-sectional study. The age and body mass index (BMI) were comparative between study groups. The serum leptin levels in all subjects and pleural effu-sions leptin level in patients with pleural effusion were determined. Leptin levels were compared in terms of study groups and gender of subjects.

Results:

The leptin levels in serum and pleural effusions in group with malignant pleural effusion were significantly higher than both the non-malignant effusion and control groups (p<0.001). While there was no statistically significant difference between male and female patients in terms of pleural effusions leptin levels (p=0.097), serum leptin level of the female patients was significantly higher than the male patients (p<0.001).

Conclusion:

Increased serum and pleural effusions leptin levels in malignant pleural effusions shows that leptin is a useful new marker.