Association of colon adenomas and skin tags: coincidence or coexistence?

• Published in: European review for medical and pharmacological sciences Vol. 18; no. 7; p. 1073
• Main Authors: Oran, M, Erfan, G, Mete, R, Yanik, M E, Yildirim, O, Aydin, M, Tasolar, K, Topcu, B
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Italy 2014
• Subjects: Adenoma - blood; Adenoma - epidemiology; Adult; Colonic Neoplasms - blood; Colonic Neoplasms - epidemiology; Colonic Polyps - blood; Colonic Polyps - epidemiology; Epidermal Growth Factor - blood; Female; Humans; Insulin - blood; Insulin-Like Growth Factor I - analysis; Male; Middle Aged; Odds Ratio; Skin Diseases - blood; Skin Diseases - epidemiology; Turkey - epidemiology; Turkey
• ISSN: 2284-0729

Skin tag (STs) are benign connective tissue tumors of the dermis. Some researchers have argued that there is a relationship between skin tag and colon polyps, although the physiopathological mechanisms underlying this relation were not well elucidated. In this study we aimed to investigate the co-existence of colonic adenomatous polyps and ST, additionally to shed light on the physiopathological mechanisms underlying this coincidence. A total of 45 patients aged between 18 and 60 diagnosed with adenomatous colonic polyps and 45 sex, age, and socio-demographically matched subjects, had no polyps, were enrolled as the control group. Routine blood analysis of all participants, including serum glucose, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), (high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), triglyceride, insulin, IGF-1, and EGF, were performed. The chi-square and independent sample t or Mann Whitney U test were used to determine differences between groups. The number of participants with ST was significantly higher in the patient group (OR 7.067, p < 0.01). Serum levels of IGF-1 and EGF were statistically similar between the groups. In the subgroup analyses, no difference was found in serum levels of insulin, IGF-1, or EGF between patients with and without ST. However, higher serum levels of insulin and EGF were found in control subjects with ST (p < 0.01 and p < 0.01, respectively). For the entire study group, 67 participants had ST and 23 patients did not. Serum insulin, and IGF-1 were similar, while serum EGF levels were higher in patients with ST (p < 0.01). Findings of the present study may show a co-existence of colonic polyps and ST. Although previous studies have indicated that insulin resistance may play a role in the pathogenesis of both lesions in diabetic and obese patients, we found no indication of a relationship in nondiabetic and nonobese patients with increased levels of EGF in patients with ST, suggesting an alternative pathogenesis in this patient group.