The immunohistochemical peptidergic expression of leptin is associated with recurrence of malignancy in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

Leptin is a peptide that plays a key role in the control of satiety, energy expenditure, food intake and various reproductive processes. In the last years, the expression of leptin had been found in malignant cells of various origins. The aim of this study is to evaluate leptin expression in human laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and to investigate its possible role in predicting prognosis. Leptin expression was determined by immunohistochemistry in pathological and healthy tissue specimens from 24 patients with laryngeal SCC. Specimens were stained with an anti-leptin antibody. All measurements were performed using a computer-based image analysis system and scale of staining intensi…