title: Circulating interleukin-6 level is a prognostic marker for survival in advanced nonsmall cell lung cancer patients treated with chemotherapy.
abstract: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide as well as in Taiwan. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a multifunctional cytokine and has been implicated in tumor progression. This study recruited 245 patients with advanced (Stage 3B/4) nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that had received chemotherapy, to evaluate associations between IL-6 and lung cancer-specific survival. Among these subjects, 112 gave blood samples before and 133 after the start of chemotherapy. Plasma IL-6 was measured using an enzyme linked-immunosorbent assay. The 33rd and 66th percentiles of IL-6 concentrations were 2.01 and 25.16 for the 245 patients and were defined as the cutoff points for dividing the patients into low, intermediate and high groups. Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional-hazard models were used to evaluate the relationship between the IL-6 level and survival time. Results after adjusting for age, sex, smoking history, histologic type and stage of lung cancer revealed a significant relationship. For all patients, the hazard ratio with high IL-6 levels for lung cancer-specific survival was 2.10 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.49 - 2.96] compared with low IL-6 levels. The hazard ratio for patients who were recruited before and after the start of chemotherapy was1.25 (95% CI = 0.73 - 2.13) and 3.66 (95% CI = 2.18 - 6.15), respectively. Patients with high circulating IL-6 also responded poorly to chemotherapy. Therefore, a high level of circulating IL-6 was associated with an inferior response and survival outcome in NSCLC patients treated with chemotherapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Research, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China.
authors.forename: Chin Hao
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Chin Fu
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Hsiao
authors.forename: Yu Min
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Yeh
authors.forename: Gee Chen
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Ying Huang
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.forename: Yuh Min
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Ming Shyan
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Hui Ling
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Yao Jen
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Pan Chyr
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Chien Jen
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Chao A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Hsiung
authors.forename: Wu Chou
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Su
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality*; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood*; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D015996:Survival Rate
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D015850:Interleukin-6