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Interleukin‐6 predicts recurrence and survival among head and neck cancer patients
Author(s) -
Duffy Sonia A.,
Taylor Jeremy M.G.,
Terrell Jeffrey E.,
Islam Mozaffarul,
Li Yun,
Fowler Karen E.,
Wolf Gregory T.,
Teknos Theodoros N.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/cncr.23615
Subject(s) - medicine , hazard ratio , head and neck cancer , head and neck squamous cell carcinoma , confidence interval , proportional hazards model , oncology , cancer , biomarker , prospective cohort study , population , cohort , multivariate analysis , gastroenterology , biochemistry , chemistry , environmental health
BACKGROUND. Increased pretreatment serum interleukin (IL)‐6 levels among patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) have been shown to correlate with poor prognosis, but sample sizes in prior studies have been small and thus unable to control for other known prognostic variables. METHODS. A longitudinal, prospective cohort study determined the correlation between pretreatment serum IL‐6 levels, and tumor recurrence and all‐cause survival in a large population (N = 444) of previously untreated HNSCC patients. Control variables included age, sex, smoking, cancer site and stage, and comorbidities. Kaplan‐Meier plots and univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards models were used to study the association between IL‐6 levels, control variables, and time to recurrence and survival. RESULTS. The median serum IL‐6 level was 13 pg/mL (range, 0‐453). The 2‐year recurrence rate was 35.2% (standard error, 2.67%). The 2‐year death rate was 26.5% (standard error, 2.26%). Multivariate analyses showed that serum IL‐6 levels independently predicted recurrence at significant levels [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.32; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.11 to 1.58; P = .002] as did cancer site (oral/sinus). Serum IL‐6 level was also a significant independent predictor of poor survival (HR = 1.22; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.46; P = .03), as were older age, smoking, cancer site (oral/sinus), higher cancer stage, and comorbidities. CONCLUSIONS. Pretreatment serum IL‐6 could be a valuable biomarker for predicting recurrence and overall survival among HNSCC patients. Using IL‐6 as a biomarker for recurrence and survival may allow for earlier identification and treatment of disease relapse. Cancer 2008. © 2008 American Cancer Society.