Serum Vascular Adhesion Protein-1 Level Predicts Risk of Incident Cancers in Subjects with Type II Diabetes

Background: Serum vascular adhesion protein-1 (VAP-1) predicts cancer-related mortality in diabetic subjects. However, whether serum VAP-1 predicts cancer incidence or cancer progression remains unclear. We conducted a cohort study to investigate whether serum VAP-1 and related clinical variables predict incident cancers in type II diabetic subjects. Methods: From 1996 to 2003, we enrolled 568 type II diabetic subjects who were free of cancer at baseline. Serum VAP-1 at enrollment was measured by time-resolved immunofluorometric assay. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) was defined as estimated glomerular filtration rate <60 mL/min per 1.73 m2. The subjects were followed until first occurrence of cancer or until December 31, 2011. Results: During a mean follow-up of 11.3 years, 71 subjects developed incident cancers. The HRs for incident cancers in subjects with highest tertile of serum VAP-1 and in subjects with CKD were 2.95 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.31–6.63; P = 0.009] and 2.29 (95% CI, 1.18–4.44; P = 0.015), respectively, after multivariate adjustment. There was an interaction between serum VAP-1 and CKD on the risk of incident cancers ( P = 0.01 for log-transformed VAP-1 × CKD). The relationship among serum VAP-1, CKD, and incident cancers was similar if death was considered in the competing risk models or if subjects with shorter follow-up period were excluded. Conclusions: Higher serum VAP-1 and CKD can independently predict future development of cancers in type II diabetic subjects. Impact: Physicians should be aware of the early signs of cancer in diabetic individuals with elevated VAP-1 or renal dysfunction. More aggressive treatment strategies might be considered. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 23(7); 1366–73. ©2014 AACR .