BACKGROUND

Interleukin-4 (IL-4) and interleukin-13 (IL-13) are anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory cytokines that play crucial roles in cancer progression. However, the clinical significance of the expression of these cytokines and their receptors (IL-4R) in oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is unknown. Therefore, we evaluated the expression of IL-4R in OSCC specimens by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and analysed its relationship to recurrence and survival.

METHODS

A total of 186 patients with OSCC were enrolled, and the expression of IL-4Rα and IL-13Rα1 on their primary tumour specimens was evaluated by IHC and correlated to clinicopathologic parameters, recurrence and survival.

FINDINGS

High expression of IL-4Rα and IL-13Rα1 was observed in 60 (32.3%) and 165 (88.7%) patients, respectively. IL-4Rα expression was inversely correlated with parameters reflecting primary tumour burden, including tumour size, tumour stage and depth of invasion at the initial diagnosis (P < 0.05). High expression of IL-4Rα also correlated with a greater risk of recurrence (P = 0.002), but was unrelated to cancer-specific survival (CSS, P = 0.118). Conversely, high IL-13Rα1 expression correlated with reduced recurrence (P < 0.001) and increased CSS (P < 0.001) in OSCC patients.

INTERPRETATIONS

High expression of IL-4Rα correlated with increased recurrence, while high IL-13Rα1 expression had an inverse relationship to recurrence and CSS in OSCC patients.