The first step for the treatment of thyroid nodules is fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB), which is a reliable and simple diagnostic procedure. Clinicians decide whether to perform surgery or to follow thyroid nodules according to the findings from fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC). The routine application of this method reduced unnecessary surgery for patients with thyroid nodules.^1-3 However, FNAC is of limited value in the presence of indeterminate cytologic findings. To avoid misdiagnosing thyroid carcinoma, surgery is recommended for these patients. The risk of malignancy in indeterminate nodules is 12% to 30%.^4-10 This means that up to 70% of these patients are undergoing surgery for a benign disease. This potentially places a large economic burden on the health care system. Besides the increased costs, these patients face the risk of complications. Of note, frozen section is essentially worthless for most of these patients.^1,11,12

Gulcelik MA, et al. J Breast Cancer. 2013 Jun;16(2):193-197. http://dx.doi.org/10.4048/jbc.2013.16.2.193

Breast cancers in women with low serum adiponectin levels have been reported to show phenotypes that are more aggressive. In 2008, we investigated the relationship between serum adiponectin levels and breast cancer in our case-controlled study involving 83 patients, in which serum adiponectin levels were measured preoperatively. In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between serum adiponectin levels and breast cancer-specific survival among these 83 patients. All 83 patients with stage I-III breast cancer, whose adiponectin levels were measured preoperatively in 2008 were enrolled in this study. The patients had no history of medications influencing insulin resistance prior to collecting the blood samples. Serum adiponectin concentrations were measured after overnight fasting (≥12 hours) by drawing a venous blood sample of 30 mL from the arm. ELISA (B-Bridge Human Adiponectin ELISA kit) was used for testing. The mean adiponectin level was found to be 15,300 ng/mL. When the adiponectin levels of the patients were analyzed according to the stage of the disease, adiponectin levels tended to be significantly lower as the stage increased. The stage of the disease was an important determinant for both Diseas Free Survival (DFS) (p=0.003) and Overall Survival (OS) (p=0.005). A significant relationship between adiponectin levels and OS was also observed (p=0.025), and levels of adiponectin above the mean value of 15,300 ng/mL were associated with improved DFS (p=0.001). Preoperative adiponectin levels may be useful to predict survival rates in breast cancer or may be used as a marker/predictor for defining patients who require more aggressive treatment. In order for adiponectin to be used as a practical clinical marker for breast cancer, large database studies are should be conducted.

Associations between Adiponectin and Two Different Cancers: Breast and Colon Adiponectin;breast cancer;colon cancer;obesity;adipose tissue;adipocytokines; Objectives: Breast and colon cancer are neoplasms well known to be related to obesity. Adiponectin, a protein that increases in obesity, seems to be involved in the relationship but clinical data are limited. Methods: In this study, we therefore evaluated the serum adiponectin levels in 87 breast and 27 colon cancer patients and assessed the relation with BMI, menopausal status, receptor status and stage of disease. Results: Serum adiponectin levels were lower in cancer cases ($8583{\pm}2095$ ng/ml for breast cancer, $9513{\pm}2276$ for colon cancer) than in controls ($13905{\pm}3263$). Conclusion: A low serum adiponectin level may be associated with both breast and colon cancer, and that this association is not statistically significant for either receptor or menopausal status in breast cancer groups.