title: Persistence of epidermal growth factor receptor and interleukin 10 in blood of colorectal cancer patients after surgery identifies patients with high risk to relapse.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Despite the great number of studies performed to detect circulating markers of disease progression in colorectal cancer, few have shown a clinical use; among those, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and, more recently, interleukin (IL)-10. In this article, we sought to investigate how primary surgery could affect expression levels of EGFR, IL-6, and IL-10 in blood from colorectal cancer patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  We investigated by reverse transcriptase-PCR assay the expression at mRNA level of EGFR, IL-6, and IL-10 in blood samples taken from 56 colorectal cancer patients. Each gene expression was evaluated 1 day before and 20 days after primary surgery. Persistence of each gene in blood after surgery was then correlated to the relapse free time in a follow-up of 3 years.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In blood samples taken before surgery, EGFR, IL-6, and IL-10 were found expressed in 62, 100, and 100% of patients, respectively. EGFR expression, but not IL-6 and IL-10, correlates with stage of disease. In the group of 41 patients who underwent follow-up studies, EGFR was found persistently high in 67%; 94% of them had relapse. Persistence of IL-10 after surgery also identifies relapses in 89% of cases. IL-6 persistence was not found to significantly correlate to progression of disease.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Persistence of both EGFR and IL-10 in blood of colorectal cancer patients after surgery identifies patients with high propensity to relapse. These findings may suggest a clinical use of preoperative EGFR/IL-10 reverse transcriptase-PCR assay in the prediction of tumor recurrence.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Chirurgiche, Policlinico Umberto I , Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Luciano
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Giacomelli
authors.forename: Walter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Gianni
authors.forename: Cristiano
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Belfiore
authors.forename: Orietta
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Gandini
authors.forename: Lazzaro
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Repetto
authors.forename: Angelo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Filippini
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Frati
authors.forename: Anna Maria
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Aglianò
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gazzaniga
mesh_terms: D000199:Actins / Q000378:metabolism; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D066246:ErbB Receptors / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D016753:Interleukin-10 / Q000097:blood* / Q000378:metabolism; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D012008:Recurrence; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012306:Risk; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D015850:Interleukin-6; D016753:Interleukin-10; D066246:ErbB Receptors