title: Serum levels of interleukin-6 in patients with primary head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
abstract: Interleukin (IL)-6 plays a central role as a differentiation and growth factor of tumor cells. IL-6 has been identified in a wide variety of malignancies, including head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC). The aim of this study was to investigate the association between the serum levels of IL-6 in HNSCC patients and the biological characteristics of the tumor as well as the clinicopathological status of the patients. The circulating level of IL-6 in sera from patients with various HNSCC (n = 90) as well as from healthy normal controls (n = 39) was investigated. Serum IL-6 concentrations were determined as serum immunoreactivity using a quantitative sandwich enzyme immunoassay technique. For statistical analysis, the Kruskal-Wallis test was performed. The majority of the patients with HNSCC were found to have high serum IL-6 concentrations. The IL-6 levels in the sera of patients with cancer ranged from below the detection limit to 312.8 pg/ml (mean, 19.5 pg/ml). In contrast, the IL-6 serum levels in 39 healthy individuals ranged from below the detection limit to 52.2 pg/ml (mean, 6.0 pg/ml), with the concentration being significantly higher in HNSCC patients (p < 0.001). Furthermore, the correlation of the IL-6 serum concentration with tumor stage was significant (p = 0.04). Accordingly, there was a significant difference of IL-6 serum concentration of tumors with positive and negative lymph nodes (p = 0.045), with concentration being significantly higher in lymph node-positive tumors. Our data on elevated IL-6 serum levels in the majority of HNSCC cancer patients and its correlation with tumor stage and lymph node status suggest that serum IL-6 reflects the proliferative activity of the tumor in patients with head and neck cancer. IL-6 serum determinations might serve as a biological marker and help to identify advanced head and neck tumors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital of Heidelberg at Mannheim, D-68135 Mannheim, Germany. frank.riedel@hno.ma.uni-heidelberg.de
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Riedel
authors.forename: Inka
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Zaiss
authors.forename: Denise
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Herzog
authors.forename: Karl
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Götte
authors.forename: Ramin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Naim
authors.forename: Karl
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hörmann
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging
chemical_list: D015850:Interleukin-6