Serum interleukin-2 receptor levels and cutaneous T-cell lymphoma

The serum of twenty-four patients with histopathological confirmation of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, including three with Sezary's syndrome, and twenty age matched controls was examined for soluble interleukin-2 receptor using a commercially available ELISA kit. Whilst there was no significant difference in the mean concentration of the interleukin-2 receptor between patients with mycosis fungoides and controls, six of twenty-one patients had interleukin-2 receptor levels outside the mean plus two standard deviations of the age matched cohort. Patients with Sezary's syndrome had markedly elevated levels of this receptor. Our data support a previous report suggesting serum levels of soluble interleukin-2 receptor increase with advancing age, highlighting the need for age matched controls when studying soluble interleukin-2 receptor levels in disease states.