title: High density of IL-17-producing cells is associated with improved prognosis for advanced epithelial ovarian cancer.
abstract: Interleukin (IL)-17 is the signature cytokine of T helper 17 cells. The role of IL-17 in the tumor microenvironment is still controversial. Few studies describing IL-17 expression in ovarian cancer have been reported. We have therefore analyzed the in situ tumor expression of IL-17 in advanced ovarian cancer and the possible correlation of IL-17 expression with tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) and with survival in advanced ovarian cancer. Clinical data of 104 patients with stage III-IV epithelial ovarian cancer at the Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center between 2000 and 2008 were retrospectively reviewed. Immunohistochemical staining of IL-17 and CD163 (marker for TAMs) was performed. Our data showed that levels of IL-17 were significantly increased in ovarian cancer compared with normal ovarian tissues (P<0.001). The high IL-17 expression group included more patients with grade 1 tumors than the low IL-17 expression group (P=0.042). High IL-17 expression correlated with improved progression-free survival (PFS) in advanced ovarian cancer (P<0.001). However, no significant difference was observed in overall survival between the high and low IL-17 expression groups. Multivariate analysis revealed that the density of IL-17-producing cells was a positive prognostic factor for PFS (P=0.001). Moreover, a positive correlation between the density of IL-17-producing cells and TAMs was identified (r=0.354, P<0.001). Our results indicate that the infiltration of IL-17-producing cells might contribute to improved PFS in advanced ovarian cancer. Our findings provide a new insight into the complex role of IL-17 in the tumor microenvironment of ovarian cancer.
authors: State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Department of Gynecologic Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China. sslanchunyan@yahoo.com.cn
authors: Chunyan
authors: C
authors: Lan
authors: Xin
authors: X
authors: Huang
authors: Suxia
authors: S
authors: Lin
authors: Huiqiang
authors: H
authors: Huang
authors: Qichun
authors: Q
authors: Cai
authors: Jiabin
authors: J
authors: Lu
authors: Jihong
authors: J
authors: Liu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000077216:Carcinoma, Ovarian Epithelial; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020381:Interleukin-17 / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000378:metabolism; D008875:Middle Aged; D009375:Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D059016:Tumor Microenvironment
chemical_list: D020381:Interleukin-17