Investigation of Interleukin-27 in the Sera of Nonmelanoma Skin Cancer Patients

Abstract

IL-27 has been shown to have both tumor promoting and suppressing functions. IL-27, with its diverse influences on immune responses, has not been studied extensively in nonmelanoma skin cancers (NMSC), including Squamous and Basal Cell Carcinomas (SCC and BCC), and its roles in tumor initiation, progression, and its probable use in NMSC treatment have yet to be unveiled. A cross-sectional analytical study was designed to investigate the serum levels of IL-27 in NMSC patients in comparison to normal individuals. Levels of IL-27 in the sera of 60 NMSC patients along with 28 healthy controls were measured by means of quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In this study we observed that IL-27 serum levels were significantly higher in NMSC patients in comparison to healthy individuals (0.0134 versus 0.0008 ng/ml; P<0.001). Furthermore, when subcategorized based on pathological diagnosis, both BCC and SCC patients had higher levels of IL-27 in their sera compared to controls (P=0.002 and P=0.033; respectively). However, these levels were not different among SCC and BCC patients. According to our results, it seems that IL-27 is involved in antitumor immune responses in NMSCs. On the other hand, these observations might be indicative of this cytokine involvement in NMSC tumorigenesis and progression. Therefore, administration of this cytokine for therapeutic purposes in patients with such conditions should be erred on the side of caution.

Increased serum level of IL-27 and its clinical significance in patients with colorectal cancer

“…The IL-27 levels were higher in patients compared to the control group and the higher baseline levels of IL-27 were associated with a higher 5-year risk of HCC development in HBsAgnegative individuals [14]. Other studies comparing IL-27 serum levels between non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) [19], lung cancer [15], and healthy individuals also showed signi cantly higher levels of this cytokine in cancer patients.…”

“…Other studies, on the other hand, have found a relationship between IL-27 and the development of several cancers, including hepatocellular [14], lung [15], ovarian [16], breast [17], and different types of skin cancer [18,19]. The presence and high titer of this cytokine in serum may be related to prognosis and metastasis risk of cancer [14-16, 18, 19].…”