Serum Soluble Interleukin-2 Receptor in Colorectal Cancer

Abstract

Preoperative serum soluble interleukin-2 receptor (IL-2R) levels were measured in patients with colorectal cancer, and correlated with various factors as stage, lymph node metastasis, liver metastasis, grade, serum CEA and IAP (immunosuppressive acidic protein).The levels of serum soluble IL-2R in Dukes stage C were significantly higher than in normal control and in Dukes stage A. Serum levels were also significantly higher in patients with lymph node metastasis than in patients without such metastasis, and in IAP positive patients compared to IAP negative patients.Preoperative serum IL-2R levels thus seem to reflect the stage of the disease.Recent studies have provided evidence of a provocational role of cytokines in diverse diseases.Interleukin-2 (IL-2) thus plays an integral role in the activation of T-lymphocytes and host antitumor immune response.It is known that soluble interleukin-2 receptor (IL-2R) is released from its specific membrane receptor on activated T lymphocytes and detected in the peripheral blood stream as a form of the a-chain of IL-2R.Increased levels of serum soluble IL-2R have been found in patients with various diseases including leukemia, lung cancer, sarcoidosis, viral infections, and autoimmune diseases.However, there are few papers on serum soluble IL-2R levels in patients with cancers of the digestive tract.Therefore, we measured the serum soluble IL-2R level in patients with colorectal cancer and studied its relationship with stage, lymph node metastasis, tumor size, histological grade, and tumor markers, such as CEA (carcinoembryonic antigen) and IAP (immunosuppressive acidic protein). Material and MethodsThirty patients (15 males and 15 females) aged between 29 and 88 admitted to our hospital from February 1992 to March 1993 were included in the study.The tumours