title: Serum levels of cytokines in patients with untreated primary lung cancer.
abstract: To evaluate the relationships between serum endogenous cytokine levels and their clinical implications in cancer patients, we measured the serum levels of endogenous granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF), and interleukin 6 (IL-6) in patients with untreated primary lung cancer. The serum G-CSF level was measured using a chemiluminescent ELISA, and the other cytokine levels were measured using ELISA. Fifty healthy adults and 183 patients with primary lung cancer were studied. The mean M-CSF level in the lung cancer patients (1106.4 units/ml) was significantly higher than that in the healthy adults (836 units/ml, P = 0.0001). In patients with large cell carcinoma, endogenous G-CSF, M-CSF, and IL-6 levels were significantly higher than those in patients with carcinomas of other cell types (P < 0.05). Univariate analysis showed that survival of 159 non-small cell lung cancer patients with high (more than cutoff level) G-CSF, M-CSF, and IL-6 levels was significantly poorer than that of patients with low levels (Wilcoxon's test, P = 0.018, P < 0. 0001, and P < 0.0001, respectively). Survival of patients with high levels of two or more cytokines was poorer than that of those with high levels of one cytokine or normal cytokine levels (P < 0.0001). Multivariate analysis using Cox's proportional hazards model showed that high M-CSF and C-reactive protein levels correlated significantly with poor survival (P = 0.037 and 0.037, respectively). Our preliminary data suggest that high M-CSF levels in non-small cell lung cancer may be of poor prognostic value.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, National Cancer Center Hospital, and Division of Pharmacology, National Cancer Center Research Institute, 5-1-1 Tsukiji, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104, Japan.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Katsumata
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Eguchi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fukuda
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ohe
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Oshita
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tamura
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shinkai
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Saijo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D015996:Survival Rate
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines