Interleukin-17 may be a valuable serum tumor marker in patients with colorectal carcinoma.
The promotion of tumor growth is due to a combination of several mechanisms, including angiogenesis and the abundance of cell-derived inflammatory cytokines. The aim of this study was to investigate the serum levels of interleukin 17 (IL-17) and the expression of p53 and Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF), in order to determine the relationship between these markers and serum IL-17 levels in patients with colorectal carcinoma. Serum levels of the proinflammatory cytokine IL-17 in patients with colorectal carcinoma (CRC) (n=40) and in a healthy group (n=37) were analysed by ELISA. Surgically resected specimens of 59 colorectal carcinomas were studied by immunohistochemical staining for VEGF and p53. Analyses by ELISA showed significantly higher IL-17 serum levels in patients with colorectal carcinoma than in control subjects (IL-17; mean 128.52+/-47.62 pg/ml vs. mean 101.91+/-22.46 pg/ml; p=0.022). We also found an inverse correlation between p53 expression and the level of IL-17 in the serum of patients with CRC. In fact, the serum concentration of IL-17 was significantly higher in patients who did not express p53 (p=0.023). There was no significant correlation between the expression of p53 and VEGF. However, concomitant expression of VEGF and p53 showed a significant correlation with the histological and nuclear grade of the carcinoma. The data presented in our study indicate that IL-17 might act as a valuable tumor marker in patients with CRC and that combined analysis of p53 and VEGF expression might provide additional information about tumor features.
Radosavljevic
G
G
Center for Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kragujevac, Serbia. perun.gr@gmail.com
Ljujic
B
B
Jovanovic
I
I
Srzentic
Z
Z
Pavlovic
S
S
Zdravkovic
N
N
Milovanovic
M
M
Bankovic
D
D
Knezevic
M
M
Acimovic
L J
LJ
Arsenijevic
N
N
D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003106:Colon / Q000378:metabolism; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D020381:Interleukin-17 / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D012007:Rectum / Q000378:metabolism; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000378:metabolism; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000378:metabolism
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D020381:Interleukin-17; C495901:TP53 protein, human; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53; C467484:VEGFA protein, human; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A