Cancer Res Treat.  2013 Sep;45(3):210-219.

Prognostic Role of Interleukin-6, Interleukin-8, and Leptin Levels According to Breast Cancer Subtype

• Cho YA
• Sung MK
• Yeon JY
• Ro J
• Kim J

Abstract

PURPOSE
Inflammation within the tumor microenvironment has been reported to show an association with poor prognosis in breast cancer. However, the associations may differ according to breast cancer subtype. In this study, we investigated the association between inflammation-related markers and breast cancer recurrence according to patients' tumor subtypes.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
This prospective study included 240 patients who underwent surgery for management of newly diagnosed breast cancer. Levels of inflammation-related markers (interleukin [IL]-1beta, IL-6, IL-8, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 [MCP-1], leptin, and adiponectin) were measured at diagnosis, and the associations between these markers and breast cancer recurrence during a six-year follow-up period were examined using the Kaplan-Meier statistical method.
RESULTS
Overall, inflammation-related markers showed no association with breast cancer recurrence. However, when data were stratified by tumor subtype, higher levels of some mediators showed an association with poor prognosis among patients with particular subtypes. Compared to patients without recurrence, patients with recurrence had higher levels of circulating IL-6 (p=0.024) and IL-8 (p=0.016) only among those with HER2- tumors and had higher levels of leptin (p=0.034) only among those with estrogen receptor (ER)+/progesterone receptor (PR)+ tumors. Results of survival analyses revealed an association of high levels of IL-6 (p=0.016) and IL-8 (p=0.022) with poor recurrence-free survival in patients with HER2- tumors. In addition, higher leptin levels indicated shorter recurrence-free survival time only among patients with ER+/PR+ tumors (p=0.022).
CONCLUSION
We found that certain cytokines could have a differential prognostic impact on breast cancer recurrence according to breast cancer subtype. Conduct of additional large studies will be required in order to elucidate the precise roles of these cytokines in breast cancer progression.

Keyword

Breast neoplasms; Recurrence; Cytokines; HER2; Estrogen receptors; Progesterone receptors

MeSH Terms

Breast
Breast Neoplasms
Chemokine CCL2
Cytokines
Estrogens
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Inflammation
Interleukin-6
Interleukin-8
Leptin
Prognosis
Prospective Studies
Receptors, Estrogen
Receptors, Progesterone
Recurrence
Tumor Microenvironment
Chemokine CCL2
Cytokines
Estrogens
Interleukin-6
Interleukin-8
Leptin
Receptors, Estrogen
Receptors, Progesterone

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Effect of interleukin 6 (IL-6) on breast cancer recurrence-free survival according to HER2 status: (A) HER2 positive and (B) HER2 negative.

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  Fig. 2 Effect of interleukin 8 (IL-8) on breast cancer recurrence-free survival according to HER2 status: (A) HER2 positive and (B) HER2 negative.

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  Fig. 3 Effect of leptin on breast cancer recurrence-free survival according to estrogen receptor (ER)/progesterone receptor (PR) status: (A) ER/PR positive and (B) ER/PR negative.

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