The Role of Insulin-Like Growth Factor in the Acrochordon Etiopathology
Abstract Background There are reports that acrochordons (skin tag), the most common fibroepithelial tumor of the skin, may be associated with metabolic syndrome components, particularly insulin metabolism disorders. However, to the best of our knowledge, there is no study examining its association with the insulin resistance, insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF-1R) and insulin-like growth factor 2 receptor (IGF-2R) levels at tissue level yetMethods Thirty patients with at least 1 acrochordon in their body who had no known history of diabetes mellitus and the control group comprised 30 individuals who had no acrochordon or no known history of diabetes mellitus were included. IGF-1R and IGF-2R expression was investigated using immunohistochemical assessment administered to the tissue samples from the study and control groups.Results In the group with acrochordon, IGF-1R and IGF-2R expression was found to be significantly higher compared to the control group (p<0,01). IGF-1R expression was found to correlate with serum IGF-1 and BMI (p=0,03 r=0,028 and p=0,048 r=0,257 respectively). IGF-2R expression was found to correlate with BMI and HOMA-IR (p=0,03 r=0,357 and p=0,046 r=0,256 respectively). Using logistic regression analysis, an increase in serum insulin, serum IGF-1 and HOMA-IR levels was shown to increase IGF-1R and IGF-2R expression rates.Conclusion These findings support the view that insulin metabolism disorders in patients with acrochordon should be evaluated. Our study indicates that insulin like growth factor receptors may have an effect on the acrochordon pathogenesis and that acrochordon etiology and related conditions can be clarified by detection of parameters that influence the receptor levels.