Surgical Clinic, Department of Urology, Haukeland University Hospital, 5021, Bergen, Norway.
Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Bergen, 5021, Bergen, Norway.
Cancer Immunol Immunother. 2021 Jan;70(1):19-30. doi: 10.1007/s00262-020-02655-z. Epub 2020 Jul 3.
An improved understanding of RCC immunology should shed further light on RCC tumor biology. Our objective was to study to what extent serum levels of the IL-6 family of cytokines at diagnosis were relevant to survival.
A total of 118 consecutively patients with RCC, in which the tumor was surgically removed at Haukeland University Hospital during the period from 2007 to 2010, were included. The patients were followed-up for 10 years. The morning before surgery blood was sampled and serum frozen, with levels of IL-6, IL-27, IL-31, OSM, CNTF, IL-6Rα and gp130 determined.
Among patients with the highest quartile of IL-6 (> 8 pg/ml) (n = 29), six of nine who had metastasis at diagnosis had such high IL-6 values. Among presumed radically treated patients, a high IL-6 and IL-27 strongly predicted recurrence. In particular, the predictions among patients with large (diameter > 7 cm) tumors were excellent regarding both IL-6 and IL-27 values. High gp130 serum levels predicted an overall survival (OS) among RCC patients with large tumors. Patients with a high IL-6 exhibited a strong expression of IL-6 in endothelial- and vascular smooth muscle cells. Moreover, the level of intra-tumoral CD3-positive cells predicted survival.
IL-6 and IL-27 seem to play a role in RCC biology. IL-6 enables the pinpointing of metastatic condition at diagnosis, as well as together with IL-27, the predicting of survival and recurrence. Endothelial cells and vascular smooth muscle cells are both suggested as important sources of IL-6.
对 RCC 免疫学的深入了解应能进一步阐明 RCC 肿瘤生物学。我们的目的是研究诊断时 IL-6 家族细胞因子的血清水平在多大程度上与生存相关。
共纳入 118 例连续的 RCC 患者，这些患者的肿瘤于 2007 年至 2010 年期间在豪克兰大学医院切除。对患者进行了 10 年的随访。手术前的早晨采集血样并冷冻血清，测定 IL-6、IL-27、IL-31、OSM、CNTF、IL-6Rα 和 gp130 的水平。
在 IL-6 最高四分位数（>8pg/ml）的患者中（n=29），9 例诊断时转移的患者中有 6 例存在如此高的 IL-6 值。在假定根治性治疗的患者中，高 IL-6 和 IL-27 强烈预示着复发。特别是，对于直径>7cm 的大肿瘤患者，IL-6 和 IL-27 的预测效果都很好。高 gp130 血清水平预示着大肿瘤 RCC 患者的总生存率（OS）。高 IL-6 患者的内皮细胞和血管平滑肌细胞中 IL-6 表达强烈。此外，肿瘤内 CD3 阳性细胞的水平预测了生存。
IL-6 和 IL-27 似乎在 RCC 生物学中发挥作用。IL-6 能够在诊断时确定转移状态，并与 IL-27 一起预测生存和复发。内皮细胞和血管平滑肌细胞均被认为是 IL-6 的重要来源。
