title: Serum interleukin-10 is an independent prognostic factor in advanced solid tumors.
abstract: Interleukin (IL)-10 is a Th2 type pleiotropic cytokine that has been found to be produced at the tumor site and to be increased in sera of patients suffering from different types of cancer. IL-10 has been shown to hinder a number of immune functions, i.e., T lymphocyte proliferation, Th1 type cytokine production, antigen presentation, and lymphokine-activated killer cell cytotoxicity. To assess its prognostic value, we measured serum levels of IL-10 in 118 patients with advanced solid tumors before treatment, after completion of therapy, and during follow-up. Other prognostic variables, to which IL-10 results were compared, were analyzed as well. IL-10 serum levels were found significantly elevated in cancer patients with respect to healthy controls. Of interest, a significant decrease in IL-10 serum levels was observed in the responder group, whereas a significant increase was recorded in the non-responder group. Using univariate and multivariate analyses, a significant relationship was shown between IL-10 serum levels and both overall survival (OS) and time to treatment failure (TTF). Stepwise regression analysis selected IL-10 serum level, performance status (PS), and stage as the best association of variables with significant impact on OS and TTF. In conclusion, this study shows that IL-10 has an independent prognostic significance in patients with advanced solid tumors and may be useful for monitoring disease progression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine <F. Magrassi>, Second University of Naples School of Medicine, c/o II Policlinico, 80131 Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: De Vita
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Orditura
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Galizia
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Romano
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lieto
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Iodice
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tuccillo
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Catalano
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D003602:Cytotoxicity, Immunologic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016753:Interleukin-10 / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D016019:Survival Analysis; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D016753:Interleukin-10