Interleukin-6 and triceps skinfold are associated with severity/cancer stage in newly-diagnosed colorectal cancer patients.

Abstract

INTRODUCTION\ncolorectal cancer (CRC) has an important impact on morbidity and mortality globally, and nitroxidative stress, inflammation, and nutritional status are linked with its progression.\n\n\nAIM\nto analyze the association of inflammatory, anthropometric, functional, and oxidative markers with tumor stage in newly-diagnosed CRC patients at a public reference center in Maceió, Alagoas, Brazil.\n\n\nMETHODS\npatient-generated subjective global assessment was applied, and weight, height, arm circumference, triceps skinfold (TSF), arm muscle circumference, and handgrip strength were obtained. A fasting blood sample was collected, centrifuged, and the serum was stored at -80 °C until the analysis. Malonaldehyde levels were quantified by HPLC (high-performance liquid chromatography) and cytokines, namely tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and interleukins IL-6, IL-8, and IL-17 were analyzed by ELISA. Patients were grouped according to cancer stage into group 1 (stage 0-III) and group 2 (stage IV). A binary logistic regression analysis was performed, adjusted for sex and age, to assess the relationships between the variables studied and cancer stage. Significance was considered when p < 0.05.\n\n\nRESULTS\ntwenty-eight CRC patients were included, twenty (71.4 %) from group 1 and eight (28.6 %) from group 2. The binary logistic regression revealed that lower TSF adequacy (OR = 0.929; CI 95 % = 0.870-0.993; p = 0.029) and higher IL-6 levels (OR = 1.001; CI 95 % = 1.000-1.002; p = 0.012) increased the chance of patients having tumor stage IV.\n\n\nCONCLUSION\nThese data support that IL-6 and TSF may help in cancer stage assessment in clinical practice. Modulation of inflammation by IL-6 levels may be a target in CRC treatment.