Decreased plasma ghrelin levels in patients with advanced cancer and weight loss in comparison to healthy individuals.

BACKGROUND Ghrelin is a growth hormone-releasing acylated peptide found to be an appetite stimulant and low levels of it are detected in cachexia. The aim of the present study was to investigate the plasma ghrelin levels in cancer patients with a low performance status and weight loss and compare them with those of healthy individuals without weight loss. PATIENTS AND METHODS Thirty patients (median age 65 years) with different malignancies, mainly pancreatic and gastric, and 27 healthy individuals (median age 62 years) were examined. The gender of both groups was well balanced. Plasma ghrelin was measured by a radioimmunoassay kit that uses a polyclonal antibody which recognizes the C-terminal of ghrelin. RESULTS There was a statistically significant difference in the plasma ghrelin levels of the patients vs. the controls, with the patients having much lower levels (p<0.001). CONCLUSION The notable reduction of ghrelin levels might be due to the severity and progression of the disease.