Serum Adipokines as Biomarkers for Surveillance of Metabolic Syndrome in Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Survivors in Low Middle-Income Countries.

Background: Serum adipokines (leptin and adiponectin) are dysregulated before the onset of metabolic syndrome and hence may be useful biomarkers for screening of cardiometabolic late effects in childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (cALL) survivors.

Methods: We compared serum adipokine levels between 40 cALL survivors (aged 10-18 years, >2 years from treatment completion) with similar controls. A multivariable logistic regression analysis was then done to assess the association of metabolic syndrome in cALL survivors with variables including adipokines and other metabolic parameters, demographic and treatment details, and Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scan-derived variables.

Results: Compared to controls, cALL survivors had a higher prevalence of metabolic syndrome (8/40 vs. 2/40, P = .044) and central obesity (11/40 vs. 4/40, P = 0.042). Median Serum Leptin (7.39 vs. 4.23 ng/ml, P = 0.207) levels and derived Leptin-Adiponectin Ratio (1.44 vs. 0.80, P = 0.598), were higher but not statistically different in our survivors compared to controls; Adiponectin levels were similar (6.07 vs. 5.01 µg/ml, P = 0.283). In the cALL survivors, overweight/obesity (odds ratio [OR] 21.9, P = 0.020) or higher Leptin levels (OR 1.11, P = 0.047), were independently associated with metabolic syndrome.

Conclusions: Serum Leptin, independently predictive of metabolic syndrome in our cALL survivors, may be tested in larger studies to assess its utility in surveillance and initiation of early preventive measures.