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Complete resection for pleomorphic lung cancer with a high serum IL-6 level: a case report
Soichi Oka1, Hiroki Matsumiya2, Shuichi Shinohara2
1Second Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, 1-1 Iseigaoka, Yahatanishi-ku, Kitakyushu, 807-8555, Japan. okasou@med.uoeh-u.ac.jp.
Background:
Pleomorphic lung cancer cells have been reported to produce cytokines, resulting in systemic reactions. Recently, the autonomous production of hematopoietic cytokines (granulocyte colony-stimulating factor [G-CSF], granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor [GM-CSF], and interleukin-6 [IL-6]) was observed in some of these patients.
Case Presentation:
We herein report a case of complete resection of right pleomorphic lung cancer producing IL-6. The patient had a high-grade fever before surgery, and a blood examination showed high IL-6 and CRP levels in the serum. After surgery, the patient no longer had a fever, and the elevated serum IL-6 levels had dropped to values less than those before the operation. Immunohistochemically, the carcinoma cells were faintly or focally positive for IL-6 and negative for G-CSF.
Conclusions:
The symptoms in the present case were dramatically improved by surgery. In addition, an immunohistochemical examination showed that the cancer cells were positive for IL-6.