The metabolic syndrome and its components as prognostic factors in metastatic colorectal cancer

Background Components of the metabolic syndrome (MetS) are involved in colorectal cancer development and the incidence of the disease is higher in obese and diabetic patients. Nevertheless, the value of these diseases or the MetS as a whole as prognostic markers once colorectal cancer is diagnosed is controversial. Methods Patients with metastatic colorectal cancer treated in our center over a 6-year period were reviewed and data on baseline characteristics of the patients and their cancers were extracted. Data on the presence and pharmacologic treatments of the four components of the MetS (obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidemia) were also recorded. Overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS), Kaplan-Meier curves of the various groups were constructed and compared with the log-rank test. Results One hundred and twenty-three patients were included in the analysis. The prevalence of the four MetS components was 66.1% for overweight/obesity, 25.2% for diabetes, 61% for hypertension, and 41.5% for dyslipidemia. Among the four components of the metabolic syndrome, none was associated with either PFS or OS. Diabetes tended to approach significance for PFS (p=0.08). The MetS as a whole did not influence survival outcome. MetS was not prognostic even if the overweight category was not considered as a positive element of the syndrome. Conclusion These data suggest that diabetes or other metabolic syndrome elements are not prognostic factors for PFS or OS in metastatic colorectal cancer. Further investigation may be warranted with a focus on refinement of the metabolic evaluation.