Objective: To investigate whether insulin resistance exists in patients with colorectal cancer and its clinical significance.
Methods: A total of 135 patients with colorectal cancer were included as the study group, and 120 healthy subjects were included as the control group. Height, weight, and blood pressure were recorded. Fasting plasma glucose, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and insulin were measured. Insulin resistance index(lnHOMA-IR) was calculated.
Results: The lnHOMA-IR was 0.84±0.38 in the study group and 0.42±0.08 in the control group(P<0.05). The incidence of metabolic syndrome was 34.1%(46/135) in the study group and 22.5%(27/120) in the control group(P<0.05). Insulin resistance index did not differ between the groups according to metabolic syndrome(0.98±0.41 vs. 0.74±0.22, P>0.05). There were no significant associations between insulin resistance index and tumor differentiation, depth of invasion, lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis, and TNM staging(P>0.05).
Conclusion: Insulin resistance exists in colorectal cancer patients, and it is possibly associated with metabolic syndrome and the tumor.