The Serum Concentrations of Chemokine CXCL12 and Its Specific Receptor CXCR4 in Patients with Esophageal Cancer

Abstract

Objectives. Recent investigations have suggested that upregulated levels of inflammatory biomarkers, such as chemokines, may be associated with development of many malignancies, including esophageal cancer (EC). Based on our knowledge, this study is the first to assess the serum concentration of chemokine CXCL12 and its specific receptor CXCR4 in the diagnosis of EC patients. Material and Methods. The present study included 79 subjects: 49 patients with EC and 30 healthy volunteers. The serum concentrations of CXCL12 and CXCR4 and classical tumor markers such as carcinoembryonal antigen (CEA) and squamous cell cancer antigen (SCC-Ag) were measured using immunoenzyme assays, while C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were assessed by immunoturbidimetric method. Moreover, diagnostic criteria of all proteins tested and the survival of EC patients were assessed. Results. The serum concentrations of CXCL12 were significantly higher, while those of its receptor CXCR4 were significantly lower in EC patients compared to healthy controls. The diagnostic sensitivity, negative predictive value, and accuracy of CXCR4 were the highest among all analyzed proteins and increased for combined analysis with classical tumor markers and CRP levels. Conclusion. Our findings suggest that serum CXCR4 may improve the diagnosis of EC patients, especially in combination with classical tumor markers.

Serum concentrations of receptor for interleukin 8 in patients with esophageal cancer

“…These findings are consistent with our previous studies, where these diagnostic criteria were also higher for CXCL -12, CXCR -4, and CRP concentrations than for the classic tumor markers. 13 The AUC for CXCR -2 in EC patients was higher than that for SCC -Ag and slightly lower than that for CRP and CEA. These findings are consistent with our previous study, where the AUCs for CXCR -4, CXCL -12, and CRP were similar or lower than those for CEA and higher than those for SCC -Ag levels in the diagnosis of EC patients.…”

“…The univariate log -rank analysis indicated that the histological type of EC (P = 0.017), tumor studies, where serum levels of other inflammatory proteins such as CXCL -12 and its receptor (CXCR -4), CRP, and IL -6 were also significantly higher in EC patients in comparison with controls. [11][12][13] Other authors have revealed that CXCR -2 expression is significantly higher in patients with EC than in healthy individuals. However, these results were obtained using the immunohistochemical method.…”

“…The cut -off value of CXCR -2 levels was estimated using the Youden index as 0.72 ng/ml, while for the classic tumor markers (SCC -Ag, 2 ng/ml; CEA, 4 ng/ml) and CRP (5.75 mg/l), the cut -off values were previously established in our department based on the 95th percentile. [11][12][13] DISCUSSION Chemokines and their specific receptors play an important role in tumor growth, angiogenesis, invasion, and metastasis of several malignancies, including EC. The CXCR2 is a member of the G -protein -coupled receptor family.…”

“…These findings are consistent with our previous study, where the AUCs for CXCR -4, CXCL -12, and CRP were similar or lower than those for CEA and higher than those for SCC -Ag levels in the diagnosis of EC patients. 13 Conclusions The overall 5 -year survival rate of patients with EC remains unsatisfactory; therefore, there is an urgent need to find a new biomarker that could be useful in the early diagnosis and prognosis of these patients. 8 To our knowledge, the role of CXCR -2 in EC has been evaluated …”

The significance of chemokine CXCL-8 in esophageal carcinoma

“…Currently, cancer proteomics provide a novel tool to identify new diagnostic biomarkers that may improve clinical outcome. In our previous studies we assessed the diagnostic usefulness of selected inflammatory proteins such as C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), chemokine CXCL12 and its specific receptor (CXCR-4) as well as the receptor for CXCL-8 (CXCR-2) in EC patients [26][27][28][29]. We conclude that the diagnostic significance of all analyzed inflammatory mediators was higher than that of classical tumor markers (CEA and SCC-Ag) of esophageal cancer and increased for combined measurement with CEA or SCC-Ag.…”