title: Prognostic value of serum IL-18 and nitric oxide activity in breast cancer patients at operable stage.
abstract: Interleukin-18 (IL-18) is a multifunctional cytokine that was previously termed interferon-gamma-inducing factor. It has been suggested that serum IL-18 level may be used as a prognostic factor in some cancer types. Nitric oxide is a potent biologic molecule involved in the pathogenesis of cancer. In this study, we measured serum IL-18 and nitrate + nitrite levels in 56 patients with nonmetastatic breast cancer and 14 control subjects. Serum IL-18* and nitrate + nitrite** levels were significantly higher in patients with breast cancer when compared to the control subjects (*p < 0.05, **p < 0.001). Serum IL-18 levels were significantly higher in patients whose tumor size was greater than or equal to 5 cm when compared to patients whose tumor size was less than or equal to 2 cm (p < 0.05). Patients who were axillary lymph node negative (ALN) had lower serum IL-18 levels when compared to patients with positive ALN (p < 0.001). Serum IL-18 levels were significantly higher in patients with stage IIB or IIIA when compared to patients with stage I or IIA (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference in serum nitrate + nitrite levels in terms of age, tumor stage, estrogen receptor, and menopausal and ALN status (p > 0.05). In conclusion, serum IL-18 level may be a useful marker to predict prognosis of patients with breast cancer in complete remission after surgery. Long-term follow-up is required to clarify this hypothesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Gazi University Medical School, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Nazan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Günel
authors.forename: Ugur
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Coskun
authors.forename: Banu
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sancak
authors.forename: Oguz
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Hasdemir
authors.forename: Mustafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sare
authors.forename: Orhan
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Bayram
authors.forename: Gokhan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Celenkoglu
authors.forename: Secil
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ozkan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D002272:Carcinoembryonic Antigen / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020382:Interleukin-18 / Q000097:blood*; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008875:Middle Aged; D018396:Mucin-1 / Q000097:blood; D009566:Nitrates / Q000097:blood; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000378:metabolism*; D009573:Nitrites / Q000097:blood; D011379:Prognosis
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D002272:Carcinoembryonic Antigen; D020382:Interleukin-18; D018396:Mucin-1; D009566:Nitrates; D009573:Nitrites; D009569:Nitric Oxide