The importance of testing cytokines: prostate cancer
There are many studies that demonstrate the importance of testing cytokines ('messenger molecules' of the immune system) for prostate cancer. One paper published some time ago in the Journal of Clinical Oncology examined whether the cytokines IL-6 Soluble Receptor and TGF-Beta can predict if clinically localized prostate cancer will progress or not. The authors demonstrated that measuring IL6SR and TGF-β1...
"...improved the ability to predict biochemical progression by a prognostically substantial margin."
In other words, this helps determine who needs a more aggressive intervention and who doesn't.The authors of a paper published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research investigated how cytokines before and after surgery correspond to prostate cancer progression:
"We have shown that preoperative plasma levels of transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), interleukin 6 (IL)-6, and its receptor (IL-6sR) are associated with prostate cancer progression and metastasis. The objectives of this study were to...examine the association of ...these markers after surgery with disease progression in a large consecutive cohort of patients."
Their conclusion:
"For patients undergoing radical prostatectomy, preoperative plasma levels of TGF-β1 and IL-6sR are associated with metastases...and disease progression. After prostate removal, postoperative TGF-β1 level increases in value over preoperative levels for the prediction of disease progression."
Another study demonstrating that cytokines greatly increase the accuracy of predicting the potential for prostate cancer recurrence was published in the journal The Prostate. The authors set out to test...
"the ability of several pre-operative blood-based biomarkers to enhance the accuracy of standard post-operative features for the prediction of biochemical recurrence (BCR) after radical prostatectomy (RP)."
They measured the cytokines IL-6, ILsR and TGF-β and concluded:
"Pre-operative plasma biomarkers improved the accuracy of established post-operative prognostic factors of BCR by a significant margin. Incorporation of these biomarkers into standard predictive models may allow more accurate identification of patients who are likely to fail RP thereby allowing more efficient delivery of adjuvant therapy."