Interleukin 8 as predictive factor for response to chemotherapy in colorectal cancer patients.

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) represents a major public health problem owing to the fact that many patients are diagnosed in locally advanced or metastatic stage when chemotherapy is the only remaining option. However, treatment response is still unpredictable and depends upon a diversity of factors such as tumor inherited or acquired drug resistance and the host immune response to the malignant cells. The aim of this study was to evaluate the serum levels of interleukin 6, 8, 10 (IL-6, 8, 10) as possible predictive factors for response to chemotherapy and the correlation between the cytokines and the psychological distress.Methods: Forty-nine patients undergoing chemotherapy for locally advanced or metastatic CRC were included, for each patient IL-6, 8 and 10 were assessed through ELISA. Depression and anxiety were quantified through questionnaires. Statistical data were performed with GraphPad.Results: Patients with CRC had high serum levels of IL-8 and IL-6 compared to the healthy control group. High levels of IL-8 before treatment were correlated with progressive disease. There was a high incidence of psychological complication in CRC patients, especially in young male patients, from an urban area, with a positive correlation between serum levels of IL-8 and depression.Conclusions: These results indicate that high serum levels of IL-8 are predictive factors in CRC patients that undergo chemotherapy, but also could be useful in identifying psychological distress associated with this pathology.

Liquid biopsy challenge and hope in colorectal cancer.

INTRODUCTION: Colorectal cancer is an important global health burden marked by a high mortality rate. Medical attention is drawn more often by the new targeted therapies, but also by the concept of liquid biopsy. Tumor's genetic profile is the major indicator of the response to targeted therapies and the risk for metastatic relapse. Therefore, analysis of tumor-linked genetic alterations holds a great importance, both for diagnostic and prognostic purposes. Areas covered: The present paper highlights the molecular basis of the liquid biopsy concept and its major clinical applications in colorectal cancer. This consists in circulating tumor cells (CTC) and cell-free tumor DNA (cfDNA) and is described in manuscripts as an alternative to tissue samples, providing more information about tumor heterogeneity and tumor evolution in dynamic. Expert opinion: Liquid biopsy is an innovative, minimally invasive method which enables real-time monitoring of tumor's genetic heterogeneity, being an important step towards personalized medicine. However, despite the large number of detection methods available, it is necessary to standardize them regarding the blood collection processing and sample storage, analysis in order to be implemented in clinical guidelines.

Circulating tumor cells in clinical research and monitoring patients with colorectal cancer.

Colorectal cancer remains a frequent disease to which screening and target therapy exist, but despite this is still marked by a high mortality rate. Even though radical surgery may be performed in many cases, patients relapse with metastatic disease. Circulating tumor cells were incriminated for tumor recurrence, that's why vigorous research started on their field. Owning prognostic and predictive value, it was revealed their usefulness in disease monitoring. Moreover, they may serve as liquid biopsies for genetic tests in cases where tissue biopsy is contraindicated or cannot be performed. In spite of these advantages, they were not included in clinical guidelines, despite CellSearch and many other detection methods were developed to ease the identification of circulating tumor cells. This review highlights the implication of circulating tumor cells in metastasis cascade, intrinsic tumor cells mechanisms and correlations with clinical parameters along with their utility for medical practice and detection techniques.

IL-6 roles - Molecular pathway and clinical implication in pancreatic cancer - A systemic review.

Pancreatic cancer has attracted a great deal of attention owing to the poor outcome, increasing prevalence in the last years and delay diagnosis. Known as a complex disease, it involves genetic mutations, changes in tumour microenvironment and inflammatory component dominated by interleukin-6 and its activated pathways, like Janus Kinase-Signal Transducer and Activator of Translation3, Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase and Androgen receptor. The pro-inflammatory cytokine, plays a central role in oncogenesis, cancer progression, invasiveness, microenvironment changes, treatment resistance, prognosis and associated co morbidities like cachexia and depression. Fulfilling these roles IL-6 requires special attention to understand its complexity in PC development.