Preliminary studies on the serum IL-17 and TGF-β levels and their correlations with tumor incidence and progression in colorec-tal cancer patients / 中国肿瘤临床

ABSTRACT

Objective: This work aimed to investigate the relationships of the serum levels of IL-17 and TGF-β with the carcinogenesis and progression of colorectal cancer (CRC), as well as the clinical significance of these serum levels. Methods: Data of 30 healthy subjects, 59 patients with simple CRC and 44 CRC patients with postoperative (post-op) metastasis were recruited in this study. The patients were respectively divided into group A (30 healthy subjects as the control group), group B (59 CRC patients without distant metastasis after surgery), and group C (44 CRC patients with post-op metastasis). The patients in each group had a mean age of 53.8 ± 20.8, 62.0 ± 11.8, and 64.0 ± 15.7 years, respectively. All patients were confirmed by pathological diagnosis. The serum levels of IL-17 and TGF-β were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. All quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS 13.0. Results: The IL-17 serum level was significantly higher in groups B and C than in group A. The preoperative (pre-op) serum level of IL-17 was significantly higher than the post-op serum level in group B (P0.05). However, the TGF-β serum level in group C was significantly higher than that in groups A and B (P<0.05). No significant correlation was observed in the serum level IL-17 or TGF-β between colon and rectum cancers in groups B and C. Conclusion: The serum level of IL-17 is significantly correlated with that of CRC. The serum level IL-17 increases with the aggravation of CRC and increased tumor burden. A strong correlation exists between the serum level of TGF-β and metastasis of CRC. Cytokine IL-17 and TGF-β may play an important role in the progression and metastasis of CRC.