Background:Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) remain a problematic area in endocrine oncology due to their non-specific symptoms and lack of reliable biomarkers. Visfatin/eNAMPT’s involvement in tumorigenesis has been described in several malignancies. In NETs, NAMPT inhibition was explored as a potential therapeutic option; however, serum visfatin and its role as a biomarker have not been studied.Objectives:We aimed to measure serum visfatin concentrations in NETs and evaluate visfatin’s potential as a diagnostic biomarker.Methods:We conducted a single-center, cross-sectional study of 77 patients with NETs (33 pancreatic and 44 small intestinal) and 29 controls. Patient demographics, tumor characteristics, and clinical data were analyzed, and serum visfatin levels were measured using ELISA. Statistical analyses were performed in Python, including Mann–Whitney U and Kruskal–Wallis tests, Spearman’s correlation, multiple linear regression, and ROC curve analysis.Results:Serum visfatin was higher in NETs compared to controls (median [IQR]: 6.94 [2.11–236.17] vs. 1.59 [1.1–9.24] ng/mL,p= 0.004). ROC curves showed moderate diagnostic performance (AUC = 0.68), with concentrations above 2.11 ng/mL achieving 75.3% sensitivity and 58.6% specificity. In NETs, visfatin did not differ based on WHO grade (G1/G2,p= 0.31), primary site (pancreas/small intestine,p= 0.95), sex (p= 0.89), age (p= 0.13), and when stratified by primary site and grade (p= 0.18). Multiple linear regression confirmed no association between visfatin and the study variables (R-squared = 0.036, allp> 0.2).Conclusions:This is the first study examining serum visfatin as a diagnostic biomarker in NETs. Visfatin concentrations show moderate discriminatory ability between NETs and controls, independent of tumor and clinical characteristics. Further research should involve larger cohorts and comparisons to established biomarkers.
背景：神经内分泌肿瘤（NETs）因其症状非特异性且缺乏可靠的生物标志物，在内分泌肿瘤学中仍是一个难题。内脂素/eNAMPT在多种恶性肿瘤的肿瘤发生中已被证实发挥作用。在NETs中，NAMPT抑制已被探索为潜在治疗策略，但血清内脂素及其作为生物标志物的作用尚未得到研究。 目的：本研究旨在测量NETs患者血清内脂素浓度，并评估其作为诊断性生物标志物的潜力。 方法：我们开展了一项单中心横断面研究，纳入77例NETs患者（33例胰腺来源，44例小肠来源）和29例对照者。分析患者人口统计学特征、肿瘤特征及临床数据，采用ELISA法检测血清内脂素水平。使用Python进行统计分析，包括Mann-Whitney U检验、Kruskal-Wallis检验、Spearman相关性分析、多元线性回归及ROC曲线分析。 结果：NETs患者血清内脂素水平显著高于对照组（中位数[四分位距]：6.94 [2.11–236.17] vs. 1.59 [1.1–9.24] ng/mL，p=0.004）。ROC曲线显示中等诊断效能（AUC=0.68），以2.11 ng/mL为截断值时敏感度为75.3%，特异度为58.6%。在NETs患者中，内脂素水平与WHO分级（G1/G2，p=0.31）、原发部位（胰腺/小肠，p=0.95）、性别（p=0.89）、年龄（p=0.13）均无显著差异，按原发部位和分级分层后也无统计学差异（p=0.18）。多元线性回归证实内脂素与研究变量无关联（R平方=0.036，所有p>0.2）。 结论：这是首个探讨血清内脂素作为NETs诊断性生物标志物的研究。内脂素浓度在区分NETs与对照者时显示出中等判别能力，且独立于肿瘤及临床特征。后续研究应扩大样本量，并与现有生物标志物进行比较。
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