Elsevier

Cytokine

Volume 12, Issue 5, May 2000, Pages 458-465
Cytokine

Regular Article
REDUCTION IN SERUM IL-6 AFTER VACINATION OF BREAST CANCER PATIENTS WITH TUMOUR-ASSOCIATED ANTIGENS IS RELATED TO ESTROGEN RECEPTOR STATUS

https://doi.org/10.1006/cyto.1999.0591Get rights and content

Abstract

Elevated serum IL-6 concentrations have been associated with poor prognosis in a variety of cancers, and decreases in serum IL-6 concentrations have been reported after chemotherapy. We have demonstrated that serum IL-6 concentrations are elevated in breast cancer patients [normal women 0.7±2.5 pg/ml (n=36), breast cancer patients 38.3±138.7 pg/ml (n=111)]. After vaccination of breast cancer patients with a combination of tumour-associated antigens and biological adjuvants (IL-2 and GM-CSF), the concentration of IL-6 decreased significantly (P<0.05) to 8.1±14.6 pg/ml (n=85). Other studies have shown that oestrogen suppresses IL-6 production in oestrogen receptor positive breast cancer cells. We have demonstrated that the decrease in IL-6 associated with vaccination is related to the oestrogen receptor status of the tumours from breast cancer patients, as a decrease in IL-6 from 124.0±267.5 pg/ml (n=26) to 6.2±11.0 pg/ml (n=34) only occurs in patients with oestrogen receptor negative tumours. The IL-6 concentration in breast cancer patients with oestrogen receptor positive tumours remained unchanged (9.5 pg/ml before vaccination, and 9.3 pg/ml after vaccination). These results suggest that postmenopausal women with oestrogen receptor negative breast cancers, who do not respond well to either hormonal therapy with tamoxifen or adjuvant chemotherapy, may have a significant response to vaccination with autologous tumour-associated antigens.

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    Correspondence to: Mastology Research Institute, 8221 Kelwood Avenue, Baton Rouge, LA, 70806, U S A; E-mail:[email protected]

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