Association of serum hemoglobin A1c, C-peptide and insulin-like growth factor-1 levels with the occurrence and development of lung cancer

The present study aimed to investigate the correlation of the of hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), C-peptide and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) levels with the development and progression of lung cancer. The serum HbA1c, C-peptide and IGF-1 levels were measured and compared between 80 lung cancer patients and 80 healthy controls; furthermore, their correlation with histopathological type and tumor stage was analyzed in the 80 lung cancer patients. Our results suggested that the levels of HbA1c, C-peptide and IGF-1 were significantly increased in patients with lung cancer compared to those in the control group (P<0.05). In addition, the levels of C-peptide and IGF-1 were significantly higher in the small-cell lung cancer group (n=18), the stage III-IV (n=55) group and the lung cancer with diabetes mellitus group (n=43) compared to those in the non-small-cell lung cancer group (n=62), the stage I-II lung cancer group (n=25) and the lung cancer without diabetes group (n=37), respectively (P<0.05). Thus, the present study suggests that the increased serum HbA1c, C-peptide and IGF-1 levels are significantly correlated with the development and progression of lung cancer.