Cytokines induce the development of an inflammatory process that promotes tumor progression. They can be considered as diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets.

OBJECTIVE

To identify the relationship between changes in the serum cytokine profile and the prevalence of the tumor process in gastric cancer (GC).

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The study involved 80 patients with histologically confirmed gastric cancer and 80 healthy participants. Pre-therapeutic serum concentrations of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α were evaluated using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) on a enzyme immunoassay analyzer tablet Stat Fax 2100.

RESULTS

Exceeding the permissible concentration values in patients was detected for all cytokines. In the case of IL-1β, statistically significant differences compared to the control group are observed in stages II and III (p=0.001). For the remaining cytokines, significantly increased concentrations were found at stages I–III (p=0.001). For IL-6, statistically significant differences were established when comparing the serum concentration of the cytokine in patients with stages I and III (p=0.002). The highest values in comparison with the control group were established for IL-6 and IL-8, mainly in patients with I and II stages of gastric cancer. For IL-6, an inverse correlation was found compared with the gastric stage (r=-0.339).

CONCLUSION

The data obtained indicate the greatest diagnostic significance of IL-6 and IL-8 in distinguishing between norm and pathology. The identified features of cytokine production at various stages of GC provide additional information about tumor development