title: Clinical relevance of elevated levels of serum soluble interleukin-2 receptor alpha (sIL-2Rα) in patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
abstract: Levels of soluble interleukin-2 receptor alpha (sIL-2Rα) are known to increase in the sera of patients with certain malignancies, including malignant lymphoma. This study aimed to assess the clinical significance of the sIL-2Rα level in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). We used ELISA to measure the sIL-2Rα levels in 48 newly diagnosed and untreated patients with NHL and evaluated the correlation between the sIL-2Rα levels and clinical characteristics and the International Prognostic Index (IPI). We monitored serum sIL-2Rα in 7 patients to compare the changes in their clinical progress with these levels. High levels of serum sIL-2Rα (≥ 2,000 U/mL) correlated well with parameters defining the high risk group according to the IPI, i.e., high tumor burden at diagnosis (stage III+IV) and lactate dehydrogenase ≥ 472 U/L. The levels were also associated with B symptoms, bone marrow involvement, and poor response to therapy. The sIL-2Rα level decreased during complete remission and was elevated during disease progression or relapse. A high level of sIL-2Rα was significantly associated with a low survival rate. These results suggest that serum sIL-2Rα might be useful as a biomarker for evaluating the prognosis of patients with NHL at the time of diagnosis and during therapy. A well-controlled, large-scale study is needed to clarify the clinical significance of sIL-2Rα in specific groups of NHL.
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Busan, Korea.
authors.forename: Seon A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Jo
authors.forename: Sang-Hyun
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.forename: Chulhun L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Shine Young
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Ho-Jin
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Joo Seop
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: Mee Young
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Sol
authors.forename: Eun Yup
authors.initials: EY
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053645:Interleukin-2 Receptor alpha Subunit / Q000097:blood*; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase / Q000097:blood; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000401:mortality; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D015996:Survival Rate
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D053645:Interleukin-2 Receptor alpha Subunit; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase