Study of interlukin 6 (IL -6) in chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients

Abstract

Background Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most common leukemia in adults. These malignant B-CLL cells represent over 99% of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in CLL patients. In case of an aggressive form, the cell number may quickly double and, as a result, the disease may be fatal within a relatively short period of time .Currently several biomarkers are being used as CLL prognosticators, including: elevated protein levels (e.g. TCL-1, ZAP-70, CD38), elevated RNA levels (e.g. CLLU1, LPL, miRNAs), gene mutations (e.g.TP53, SF3B1, BIRC3, NOTCH1) and epigenetic changes. Early reports implicated IL-6 as pro-tumorigenic factor in various human tumors. IL-6 levels increased significantly in serum of CLL patients and correlated with adverse clinical features and short survival. Aim of the work Is to evaluate IL 6 level in patients with CLL at time of presentation and 6 months after chemotherapy and to study its relevance to disease prognosis. Patients and Methods This Study is a cross sectional study that was conducted on 55 patients newly diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in Clinical Hematology Unit in Ain-Shams University Hospitals in Cairo, Egypt. The control group included 50 healthy control subjects. Result The initial serum IL 6 level in the patient group (pre-treatment) ranged from 36-91pg/mL (median 57), and in the control group it ranged from 1-2 pg/mL (median 1).The initial serum IL 6 level in patient group (pre-treatment) range from 36-91 pg/mL (median 57), and in patient group (post treatment) range from 1-32 pg/mL (median 2).There are positive correlations between IL6 level and with WBC, B2 microglobulin, LDH, ESR, B symptoms, Uric Acid, BM Aspirate (% of lymphocytes)and Binet and Rai staging system. Conclusion Serum IL 6 is a useful poor prognostic marker in newly diagnosed CLL patients, its prognostic value goes with the other known prognostic markers as the lymphocytic count, ESR and LDH. Abbreviations: CLL (chronic lymphocytic leukaemia); IL-6 (interleukin 6).