Introduction:
Chemerin is an adipokine, whose pro-inflammatory and carcinogenesis-related properties have recently been emphasized. The aim of this study was to examine the concentrations of chemerin in the serum and saliva of healthy subjects and patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) in II and III stage of TNM (tumor, node, metastasis) classification as well as to assess the relationship between the results and the clinical and pathological parameters.

Material and methods:
52 persons were qualified to the study, divided into two equal groups – control and study with cancer in stage II N0 and in stage III N+ according to TNM classification. Inside the groups, subgroups of persons with normal body weight 18.5 ≤ BMI < 25 and obese and overweight persons with a BMI ≥ 25 were distinguished. Serum and saliva chemerin concentrations were determined by immunoenzymatic methods.

Results:
The median concentrations of chemerin were significantly higher in the study group as compared to the control group both in serum (384.36 ng/ml vs. 170.53 ng/ml) and saliva (15.45 ng/ml vs. 4.57 ng/ml; p < 0.0001). In the subgroups with a BMI above and below 25, we found no significant differences in the concentrations of chemerin either group. There were no significant differences in the levels of chemerin in the serum or saliva between stage II and III stage of TNM (p = 0.82 and p = 0.52).

Conclusions:
The assessment of serum and saliva chemerin concentrations in patients with CRC suggests that chemerin may be a valuable biomarker for early diagnosis of CRC. The influence of BMI on the results seems to be insignificant in patients with CRC. It seems that in some cases an easily accepted saliva test can replace a serum one.