Serum expression level of cytokine and chemokine correlates with progression of human ovarian cancer

Objective: This work was designed to determine the relationship between serum expression level of cytokines and chemokines and progression of human ovarian cancer, and to evaluate the utility and diagnostic value of target markers as risk indicators. Materials and Methods: A set of candidate cytokines and chemokines (GM-CSF, IFN-γ, GRO, IL-1β, IL-2, IL-6, IL-8, MCP-1, TNF-α, VEGF, EGF, RANTES, CCL21/6Ckine, and SDF-1/CXCL12) were measured using Luminex liquid chip technique in healthy women (n=75) and in women with ovarian cancer (n=77). Results: EGF, IL-6, MCP-1, 6Ckine, RANTES, and IL-10 were significantly overexpressed in the tumor group compared to those in normal controls, while IL-2 was reduced. The combined markers (EGF, MCP-1, 6Ckine, IL-6, and TNF-α) achieved 91.1% sensitivity, 65.8% specificity, and 83.3% area under the ROC curve (AUC) in distinguishing serous ovarian cancer from health controls. Conclusion: This study suggested that serum expression level of cytokines and chemokines correlate with progression of human ovarian cancer. The association of EGF, MCP-1, 6Ckine, IL-6, and TNF-α may contribute to increase diagnosis rate of malignant ovarian tumors.

Cytokine; Chemokine; Serum; Ovarian cancer detection.

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