Fig. 7: LCN2 is regulated during pancreatic cancer in humans and is associated with neutrophil expansion, skeletal muscle catabolism, and increased mortality.
From: Lipocalin 2 mediates appetite suppression during pancreatic cancer cachexia
Scatter plot of plasma LCN2 levels and a circulating neutrophil percentage, b lymphocyte percentage, and c neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (n = 100). d Representative axial computed tomography scan at the third lumbar vertebrae highlighting visceral adipose tissue in yellow and skeletal muscle in red. e Correlation plot of change in skeletal muscle index and change in LCN2 levels after diagnosis (n = 22). f Correlation plot of change in visceral adiposity and change in LCN2 levels after diagnosis (n = 19). g Overall survival for patients with pancreatic cancer dichotomized by 240-ng/mL LCN2 levels at diagnosis (n = 128; two patients with <1.5 months of follow-up were excluded from analysis). SMI skeletal muscle index; both SMI and visceral adiposity calculated by dividing total cross-sectional area at L3 (cm2) by patient height squared (m2). Data from e, f represent a subset of patients from a–c, which have baseline and follow computed tomography scans. Please see Supplementary tables for demographics information for each patient population in a–c, e–g. a–c, e, f Analyzed by simple linear regression and two-tailed correlation analyses. Data represented in g analyzed by the log-rank Mantel-Cox test (two-sided). NLR neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio. g Blue = <240-ng/mL LCN2, red = >240-ng/mL LCN2.
