Role of serum interleukin-18 as a prognostic factor in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether serum interleukin-18 (IL-18) levels correlated with clinicopathologic features and prognosis in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).


METHODS
Serum IL-18, IL-6 and IL-12 levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) from 70 patients with HCC and 10 healthy controls.


RESULTS
Serum IL-18, IL-6 and IL-12 levels of patients with HCC were significantly higher that those of the controls. The levels of IL-18 correlated significantly with the presence of venous invasion and advanced tumor stages classified by Okuda's criteria. Patients with high serum IL-18 levels (>= 10(5) pg/mL) had a poorer survival than those with low serum IL-18 levels (< 10(5) pg/mL) (4 and 11 mo, respectively, P = 0.015). Multivariate analyses showed that serum IL-18 level, but not IL-6 and IL-12 levels, was a significant and independent prognostic factor of survival.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings demonstrate that serum IL-8 may a useful biological marker of tumor invasiveness and an independent prognostic factor of survival for patients with HCC. Thus, the detailed mechanisms of IL-18 involving in tumor progression should be further investigated.
Tangkijvanich
Pisit
P
Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand.
Thong-Ngam
Duangporn
D
Mahachai
Varocha
V
Theamboonlers
Apiradee
A
Poovorawan
Yong
Y
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018664:Interleukin-12 / Q000097:blood; D020382:Interleukin-18 / Q000097:blood*; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D016019:Survival Analysis
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D020382:Interleukin-18; D015850:Interleukin-6; D018664:Interleukin-12
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