Korean J Gastroenterol.  2002 May;39(5):362-369.

Measurement of Serum Interleukin-6 in Patients with Liver Cancer: Validation of Clinical Utility

• Hong YH
• Park JW
• Cha YJ
• Kim MK
• Kim HJ
• Do JH
• Kim JG
• Yoo BC
• Park SM

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Interleukin-6 (IL-6) has been reported as a mediator of growth control in several human neoplasms, including cholangiocellular carcinomas (CCC). The clinical utility of the serum IL-6 was evaluated for patients with primary and metastatic liver cancer regarding to differential diagnosis of liver cancers.
METHODS
Clinical characteristics and serum level of IL-6 were examined in 50 patients [13, CCC; 21, hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC); 16, metastatic adenocarcinomas (MAC)], using an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunohistochemistry specific for IL-6.
RESULTS
Hyperbilirubinemia was observed more frequently in the patients than in the patients with HCC or MAC. The elevation of serum IL-6 level was detected in all the CCC patients, 13 HCC patients, and 8 MAC patients. However, 6 healthy controls did not show it. Mean level of serum IL-6 was significantly higher in the patients with CCC (263.8 pg/mL) than in the patients with HCC (21.8 pg/mL) and MAC (6.8 pg/mL) (p=0.0185). Serum level of IL-6 was correlated with tumor burden in the patients with CCC (r=0.57, p=0.042). IL-6 expression was more frequently observed in CCC and HCC specimens than in MAC specimens by immunohistochemical study (p=0.0136).
CONCLUSIONS
A high serum level of IL-6 marks CCC patients and correlates with tumor burden. The immunohistochemical study of IL-6 may distinguish CCC from MAC.

Keyword

Interleukin-6; Cholangiocellular carcinoma; Hepatocellular carcinoma; Metastatic adenocarcinoma

MeSH Terms

Adenocarcinoma
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular
Cholangiocarcinoma
Diagnosis, Differential
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
Humans
Hyperbilirubinemia
Immunohistochemistry
Interleukin-6*
Liver Neoplasms*
Liver*
Tumor Burden
Interleukin-6