Decreased Serum Monocyte Chemoattractant Protein1 in Salivary Gland Tumor Patients

The monocyte chemoattractant protein1 (MCP1/CCL2) is a potent chemoattractant for natural killer cells, monocytes, and memory T lymphocytes. However, any role in the genesis of salivary gland tumors (SGT) is unknown. To assess the diagnostic relevance of chemokines in SGT, MCP1 levels in the serum of patients were investigated in association with tumor progression and clinical aggressiveness.

Using an ELISA kit, we assessed and compared the circulating levels of MCP1 in blood serum of 70 SGT patients with 44 healthy control samples.

The results of this study showed that the concentration of MCP1 was significantly lower in patients with benign (463.8±158.5pg/ml, P=0.033) and malignant (454.8±190.4pg/ ml, P=0.007) SGT than in healthy subjects (645.7±338.9). No significant difference in mean serum levels of MCP1 was observed between the benign and malignant group (p=0.9). While MCP1 levels were lower in patients with an advanced clinical stage, advanced tumor size, higher tumor grade, or lymph node involvement, but the mean MCP1 level between groups showed no statistically significant difference (p>0.05).

MCP1 levels in the serum of patients with SGT were decreased, indicating that this might a good marker for discriminating patients with SGT from healthy people. However, no clearcut relationship was detected between MCP1 levels and clinicopathologic factors, and MCP1 is not a good marker for evaluating tumor dissemination.