Preoperative and postoperative cytokines in patients with cancer

Changes in tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin-1 alpha (IL-1 alpha), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and granulocyte macrophage-colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) were investigated before and after operation in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), metastatic liver carcinoma, and gastrointestinal carcinoma.

Serum levels of TNF-alpha, IL-1 alpha, and IL-1 beta were high in patients with liver carcinoma (HCC and metastatic liver carcinoma) before operation in comparison with those of normal controls (P less than 0.01). In patients with gastrointestinal carcinoma, serum levels of cytokines, except those of TNF-alpha, were the same as in patients with liver carcinoma. The level of TNF-alpha in patients with gastrointestinal carcinoma was low compared with that in patients with liver carcinoma. Within 1 day after operation, the peak level of TNF-alpha was observed at 15 hours, IL-1 alpha at 18 hours, IL-1 beta at 21 hours, and IL-6 at 24 hours after operation. Subsequently, these cytokine levels peaked again: TNF-alpha at 48 hours, IL-1 alpha at 72 hours, IL-1 beta at 120 hours, and IL-6 at 168 hours after operation. GM-CSF levels increased gradually after operation. Moreover, in HCC, serum levels of TNF-alpha were high in patients with recurrence compared with those without recurrence (P less than 0.01). The difference in IL-1 alpha and IL-1 beta levels between patients with recurrence and those without recurrence can be regarded as significant (P less than 0.01).

These results suggest that TNF-alpha, IL-1, IL-6, and GM-CSF may play an important role in the pathogenesis of cancers; TNF-alpha may be especially important as a tumor marker in HCC and metastatic liver carcinoma.