Miranda Diego Oliveira, Anatriello Elen, Azevedo Lucas Ribeiro, Santos Jessica Cristina, Cordeiro Jessica Fernanda Correa, Peria Fernanda Maris, Flória-Santos Milena, Pereira-Da-Silva Gabriela
Department of Maternal-Infant Nursing and Public Health, College of Nursing, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP 14040902, Brazil.
Department of Biology, Institute of Bioscience, Language & Literature and Exact Science, São Paulo State University, São José do Rio Preto, SP 15054000, Brazil.
Biomed Rep. 2017 Aug;7(2):188-192. doi: 10.3892/br.2017.937. Epub 2017 Jul 4.
Fractalkine, a unique chemokine of the CX3C subfamily, is involved in the pathogenesis of different types of cancer and also in non-immune mechanisms associated with psychiatric disorders. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether there is a correlation between anxiety, depression and fractalkine serum levels in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients in different stages of antitumor therapy. Four groups of patients undergoing treatment (n=20 per group) were evaluated: Patients with CRC who did not undergo surgical resection of the tumor; patients who underwent resection and who did not start adjuvant therapy; patients undergoing chemotherapy for ~3 months; and patients who had completed adjuvant chemotherapy regimen for ~6 months. The control group was composed of 20 healthy volunteers free of any psychiatric or immune system disease. Depression and anxiety were evaluated using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and serum levels of fractalkine were measured by cytometric bead array. Clinically relevant levels of anxiety and/or depression were observed in all of the CRC patients at the different stages of antitumor therapy. Elevated serum levels of fractalkine were identified in the CRC patients in the pre-surgery (P<0.001) and pre-chemotherapy (P<0.001) groups, but reduced upon chemotherapy (P<0.05). Furthermore, a positive correlation was observed between fractalkine levels and the HADS scores in the CRC patients at different stages of antitumor therapy. These results demonstrate a link between fractalkine, depression and anxiety in CRC patients indicating that this chemokine is involved in the pathophysiology of these comorbidities. An improved understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in these psychological disorders will allow the design of novel therapeutic strategies to assist in alleviating such symptoms in cancer patients. Therefore, fractalkine may present as a relevant biomarker for depression and anxiety in CRC patients.
趋化因子，一种独特的CX3C亚家族趋化因子，参与不同类型癌症的发病机制，也参与与精神疾病相关的非免疫机制。本研究的目的是调查在接受抗肿瘤治疗不同阶段的结直肠癌（CRC）患者中，焦虑、抑郁与趋化因子血清水平之间是否存在相关性。对四组接受治疗的患者（每组n = 20）进行了评估：未接受肿瘤手术切除的CRC患者；接受了切除但未开始辅助治疗的患者；接受约3个月化疗的患者；以及已完成约6个月辅助化疗方案的患者。对照组由20名无任何精神或免疫系统疾病的健康志愿者组成。使用医院焦虑抑郁量表（HADS）评估抑郁和焦虑，并通过细胞计数微珠阵列测量趋化因子的血清水平。在抗肿瘤治疗不同阶段的所有CRC患者中均观察到具有临床意义的焦虑和/或抑郁水平。在手术前（P < 0.001）和化疗前（P < 0.001）组的CRC患者中发现趋化因子血清水平升高，但化疗后降低（P < 0.05）。此外，在抗肿瘤治疗不同阶段的CRC患者中，观察到趋化因子水平与HADS评分之间存在正相关。这些结果表明CRC患者中趋化因子、抑郁和焦虑之间存在联系，表明这种趋化因子参与了这些合并症的病理生理学。更好地理解这些心理障碍所涉及的分子机制将有助于设计新的治疗策略，以帮助减轻癌症患者的此类症状。因此，趋化因子可能是CRC患者抑郁和焦虑的相关生物标志物。
