IGF-I and IGF-II in relation to colorectal cancer

Recent data suggest that the IGF system plays an important role in the path ogenesis of several farms of human cancer, and there is evidence that IGFs acting in an autocrine and paracrine manner may also affect colorectal canc er risk. We have conducted a case-control study on the island of Crete, Gre ece, to examine the potential relation between circulating IGF-I and -II an d their major binding protein (IGF-BP3), on the one hand, and colarectal ca ncer, on the other. IGF-I, IGF-lt and IGF-BP3 were determined in the serum from 41 patients with colorectal cancer and 50 healthy controls; data were analyzed using unconditional multiple logistic regression, adjusting for ag e, gender, education, height and BMI, as well as mutually. Both IGF-I and I GF-II were positively, while IGF-BP3 was inversely, associated with risk fo r colorectal cancer, though none of these relations reached statistical sig nificance. However, individuals with IGF-I and -II values in the upper 2 te rtiles of the respective distributions had a significantly elevated odds ra tio for colorectal cancer (OR = 5.2, 95% confidence interval 1.0-26.8) comp ared with those in the lower tertile in both distributions. Our results pro vide evidence that high levels of circulating IGF-I and -II might be associ ated with colorectal cancer. (C) 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.