Interleukin-6 level in patients with colorectal cancer
Introduction
Interleukin-6 (IL-6) contributes to a multitude of physiological and pathophysiological processes [1], [2]. IL-6 is produced by many different cell types. The main sources in vivo are stimulated monocytes, fibroblasts, and endothelial cells. Macrophages, T-cells and B-lymphocytes,granulocytes, smooth muscle cells, eosinophils, chondrocytes, osteoblasts, mast cells, glial cells, and keratinocytes also produce IL-6 after stimulation. [1], [3]. Overexpression of IL-6 has been implicated in the pathology of a number of diseases, including multiple myeloma, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, Alzheimer disease and post-menopausal osteoporosis [2], [4]. Many research suggest that IL-6 produced by the tumor cells acts as a growth factor [5], [6].
Furthermore, it has been reported that human colorectal cancer cells produce IL-6 and the serum levels of IL-6 are elevated in patients with colorectal cancer [7]. The purpose of this study was therefore to test the hypothesis that blood level of IL-6 is associated with the amount of IL-6 in tumour and with tumour stages.
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Methods
Fifty patients with colorectal cancer, (M/F=28/22), ages 35–77 years (57.26±14.6 years), were examined in the present study. No patients had evidence of active infection or inflammatory disease, and none were under any treatment for colorectal cancer at the time of examination. The tumor was stage 4 in 8 patients, stage 3 in 23 patients, stage 2 in 8 patients, and stage 1 in 11 patients.
Blood for the measurement of serum IL-6 was collected into nonheparinized tubes, and serum was separated
Statistical analysis
The results presented as the mean ± the standard deviation (SD), and were subjected to one-way analysis of variance. A paired t-test also was used to analyze intra group differences. Correlation tables were analyzed by the fisher exact probability test or a chi-square test. A value of P<0.01 was considered significant.
Results
The mean serum level of IL-6 in all patients with colorectal cancer was 5.49± 2.49 pg/ml and in patients with stages 1, 2, 3, and 4 colorectal cancer was 2.75± 0.2, 4.14± 0.51, 5.86± 1.68, and 9.56± 0.99 pg/ml (Fig. 1).
The mean tumor level of IL-6 in all patients with colorectal cancer was 402.93± 230.19 pg/ml and in patients with stages 1, 2, 3, and 4 colorectal cancer was 230.88± 49.02, 282.5± 64.15, 394.16± 197.03, and 785.16± 105.19 pg/ml (Fig. 2).
The serum IL-6 level was correlated
Discussion
IL-6 is a pleiotropic cytokine that plays a significant role in the growth and differentiation of cells [8]. Several studies have addressed the role of IL-6 in tumor cell growth, but its exact role remains varied and unclear. It appears that the effect of IL-6 on tumor cell growth may depend on the tumor cell type [9], [10], [11], [12].
Human tumor cell lines, including esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, melanoma, lung carcinoma, and also colorectal cancer, have been reported to produce IL-6 [7]
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