Analysis of the Effect of Serum Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and Soluble IL-6 Receptor Levels on Survival of Patients with Colorectal Cancer

• Published in: Japanese journal of clinical oncology 2010-06, Vol.40 (6), p.580-587
• Main Authors: Yeh, Kun-Yun, Li, Ying-Ying, Hsieh, Ling-Ling, Lu, Chang-Hsien, Chou, Wen-Chi, Liaw, Chuang-Chi, Tang, Rei-Ping, Liao, Shuen-Kuei
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; colorectal cancer; Colorectal Neoplasms - blood; Colorectal Neoplasms - mortality; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Female; Humans; IL-6; Male; Middle Aged; Prognosis; Receptors, Interleukin-6 - blood; sIL-6R; survival; Survival Analysis; Survival Rate
• ISSN: 0368-2811; 1465-3621
• DOI: 10.1093/jjco/hyq010

Objective The correlations of serum interleukin-6 and soluble interleukin-6 receptor concentrations with clinicopathological features and survival of patients with colorectal cancer were studied. Methods We measured the serum levels of interleukin-6 and soluble interleukin-6 receptor in 99 colorectal cancer patients at the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taiwan. The interleukin-6 and soluble interleukin-6 receptor levels were tested for their association with each other, and with the clinical parameters and outcomes. Results Both interleukin-6 and soluble interleukin-6 receptor concentrations were significantly higher in colorectal cancer patients than in normal individuals. Unlike patients with serum interleukin-6 levels >10 pg/ml, who have increased carcinoembryonic antigen levels and shorter survival, serum soluble interleukin-6 receptor levels >800 pg/ml were found in patients with stages I–II and no regional lymph nodal invasion and appeared to be a positive prognostic factor for improved survival. Especially, patients with serum interleukin-6 800 pg/ml lived significantly longer. Nonetheless, the multivariate analysis showed that only tumor-node metastasis stage, metastatic status and serum interleukin-6 level were independent prognostic factors, whereas the serum soluble interleukin-6 receptor level became marginally important for survival. Conclusions We suggest the clinical relevance of interleukin-6 and soluble interleukin-6 receptor for the survival of colorectal cancer patients. From a practical point of view, detection of the serum interleukin-6 level alone, rather than combined measurement of interleukin-6 and soluble interleukin-6 receptor, may be sufficient to independently predict survival in colorectal cancer patients.