The effects of androgen deprivation therapy with weight management on serum aP2 and adiponectin levels in prostate cancer patients.

Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) for the treatment of prostate cancer (PCa) causes an increase in total body fat, leading to a net gain in body weight. Moreover, the use of the luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone agonists in ADT causes a decrease in serum androgen levels, leading to the development of metabolic syndrome (MetS). Androgen blockade significantly increases plasma adiponectin levels, which has some efficacy against MetS, whereas ADT increases fasting plasma insulin and decreases insulin sensitivity, suggesting that there are other mechanisms involved in the onset of MetS besides adiponectin activation. We investigated the effects of ADT on serum aP2 and adiponectin in PCa patients. Six months post-ADT, serum aP2 and adiponectin levels were significantly increased, although there were no changes in patient body weight and no correlation between the changes in serum aP2 and total adiponectin levels. The serum adiponectin and aP2 levels have independent implications in ADT for PCa; therefore, their combined measurement will clarify the impact on the development of obesity-related diseases during ADT. Contrary to adiponectin, high serum aP2 levels were correlated with the late development of MetS. Further studies are needed to investigate the future occurrence of metabolic diseases post-ADT.