Department of Medical Oncology, Oncology Institute, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey.
Int J Biol Markers. 2009 Jul-Sep;24(3):142-6. doi: 10.1177/172460080902400303.
Cytokines have been associated with symptoms and adverse outcomes in breast cancer. Overexpression of ERBB2 (c-erb-b2; formerly HER2/neu), which is a member of the epidermal growth receptor family, is associated with involvement of lymph nodes, large tumor size, high grade, steroid receptor negativity, aneuploidy, high proliferation rate, and low overall survival in breast cancer. The aim of the study was to examine whether ERBB2 amplification has any effect on circulating levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-2 (IL-2) in breast cancer patients.
Fifty patients with primary breast carcinoma, classified as either ERBB2 (+) or (-) by the fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) technique, were included in the study. Cytokines were studied by ELISA according to the procedure described in the commercial kit.
IL-2 levels were found significantly higher in ERBB2+ patients than in controls (p<0.05). A significant negative correlation existed between ERBB2 positivity and estrogen receptor status (p=0.004). Plasma TNF-alpha and IL-2 levels were positively correlated in ERBB2+ breast cancer patients (p<0.01).
The increase in IL-2 concentrations observed in our study suggests an activation of T cells by ERBB2 peptides.
细胞因子与乳腺癌的症状和不良预后有关。表皮生长因子受体家族成员 ERBB2（c-erb-b2；以前称为 HER2/neu）的过度表达与淋巴结受累、肿瘤体积大、高分级、甾体受体阴性、非整倍体、高增殖率和整体生存率低有关。本研究旨在探讨 ERBB2 扩增是否对乳腺癌患者循环肿瘤坏死因子-α（TNF-α）和白细胞介素-2（IL-2）水平有任何影响。
本研究纳入了 50 名原发性乳腺癌患者，通过荧光原位杂交（FISH）技术将其分类为 ERBB2（+）或（-）。根据商业试剂盒中描述的程序，通过 ELISA 研究细胞因子。
与对照组相比，ERBB2+患者的 IL-2 水平显著升高（p<0.05）。ERBB2 阳性与雌激素受体状态呈显著负相关（p=0.004）。在 ERBB2+乳腺癌患者中，血浆 TNF-α和 IL-2 水平呈正相关（p<0.01）。
我们的研究观察到 IL-2 浓度的增加提示 ERBB2 肽激活了 T 细胞。
