title: Role of Procalcitonin and Interleukin-6 in Predicting Cancer, and Its Progression Independent of Infection.
abstract: Procalcitonin (PCT) and Interleukin-6 (IL-6) have emerged as biomarkers for different inflammatory conditions. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the role of PCT and IL-6 as biomarkers of cancer and its progression in a large cohort of patients. This cross-sectional study included residual plasma samples collected from cancer patients, and control subjects without cancer. Levels of PCT and IL-6 were determined by Kryptor compact bioanalyzer. We identified 575 febrile cancer patients, 410 non-febrile cancer patients, and 79 non-cancer individuals. The median PCT level was lower in control subjects (0.029 ng/ml) compared to cancer patients with stage I-III disease (0.127 ng/ml) (p<0.0001) and stage IV disease (0.190 ng/ml) (p<0.0001). It was also higher in febrile cancer patients (0.310 ng/ml) compared to non-febrile cancer patients (0.1 ng/ml) (p<0.0001). Median IL-6 level was significantly lower in the control group (0 pg/ml) than in non-febrile cancer patients with stages I-III (7.376 pg/ml) or stage IV (9.635 pg/ml) (p<0.0001). Our results suggest a potential role for PCT and IL-6 in predicting cancer in non-febrile patients. In addition, PCT is useful in detecting progression of cancer and predicting bacteremia or sepsis in febrile cancer patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Infection Control and Employee Health/Division of Internal Medicine, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, United States of America.
authors.forename: Anne-Marie
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Chaftari
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Infection Control and Employee Health/Division of Internal Medicine, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, United States of America.
authors.forename: Ray
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hachem
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Infection Control and Employee Health/Division of Internal Medicine, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, United States of America.
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Reitzel
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Infection Control and Employee Health/Division of Internal Medicine, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, United States of America.
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jordan
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Infection Control and Employee Health/Division of Internal Medicine, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, United States of America.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Infection Control and Employee Health/Division of Internal Medicine, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, United States of America.
authors.forename: Ammar
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yousif
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Infection Control and Employee Health/Division of Internal Medicine, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, United States of America.
authors.forename: Kumait
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Garoge
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Infection Control and Employee Health/Division of Internal Medicine, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, United States of America.
authors.forename: Poonam
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Deshmukh
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Infection Control and Employee Health/Division of Internal Medicine, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, United States of America.
authors.forename: Zanaib
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Al Hamal
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Infection Control and Employee Health/Division of Internal Medicine, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, United States of America.
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jabbour
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Infection Control and Employee Health/Division of Internal Medicine, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, United States of America.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hanania
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Infection Control and Employee Health/Division of Internal Medicine, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, United States of America.
authors.forename: Sammy
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Raad
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Infection Control and Employee Health/Division of Internal Medicine, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, United States of America.
authors.forename: Mohamed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jamal
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Infection Control and Employee Health/Division of Internal Medicine, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, United States of America.
authors.forename: Issam
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Raad
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D002116:Calcitonin / Q000502:physiology*; D015740:Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D018450:Disease Progression; D006801:Humans; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000473:pathology*; D011498:Protein Precursors / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C000606589:CALCA protein, human; D015850:Interleukin-6; D011498:Protein Precursors; D002116:Calcitonin; D015740:Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide