title: Elevated serum levels of interleukin-10 in patients with metastatic malignant melanoma.
abstract: Interleukin-10 (IL-10), originally described as a product of TH2 cell clones, has been recognized as a potential immunosuppressive cytokine. To investigate the relevance of IL-10 in melanoma patients in vivo, we studied IL-10 serum levels in 104 untreated patients in different stages of the disease; 20 healthy subjects and 22 patients with inflammatory dermatoses served as controls. Serum levels were measured by ELISA. Only one of 31 patients with stage I melanoma (3%) and one of 16 stage II patients (6%) showed detectable IL-10 levels. Interestingly, six of 17 patients with lymph node metastases (stage III, 35%) and 29 of 40 patients with widespread disease (stage IV, 73%) revealed IL-10 levels of 15-480 pg/ml. No healthy person and only one control patient had a detectable IL-10 serum level. The data suggest that IL-10 in melanoma patients may contribute to down-modulation of anti-tumour responses in vivo.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, University of Würzburg, Germany.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Dummer
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Becker
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schwaaf
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Leverkus
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Moll
authors.forename: E B
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Bröcker
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016753:Interleukin-10 / Q000097:blood*; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000097:blood* / Q000556:secondary*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D016753:Interleukin-10