Characterization of patients with high serum level of IL-6 in advanced pancreatic cancer.

Abstract

197 Background: IL-6 is a key mediator of cancer cachexia. The degree of cachexia affects serum IL-6 level in pancreatic cancer (PC) and is varied according to disease progression. The study population to characterize advanced PC patients with high IL-6 level needs the homogeneity in disease status. This study was aimed to identify IL-6-related factors in patients who were scheduled to undergo first-line chemotherapy for treatment-naïve advanced PC. Methods: Patients with treatment-naïve advanced PC were eligible for inclusion in this study. Patients with obvious infection or biliary drainage were excluded. Serum IL-6 levels and clinical parameters (e.g. symptoms, body composition) were prospectively collected. A high IL-6 level was defined as a value greater than the median value in all of the analyzed patients, and analyses were performed to identify risk factors for high IL-6 levels. Results: Eighty patients were analyzed. A multivariate analysis determined that the following parameters were associated with high IL-6: the presence of liver metastasis [Odds ratio (OR): 4.8, p < 0.01], fatigue (OR 3.4, p = 0.02), high carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels (OR: 6.9, p = 0.03), anemia (OR: 9.5, p = 0.01), and high C-reactive protein (CRP) levels (OR: 12.4, p = 0.02). A decreased skeletal muscle mass tended to be frequently observed in patients with high IL-6 levels. Conclusions: High serum IL-6 related the presence of liver metastasis, severe fatigue, high CEA, high CRP and anaemia. Additionally, skeletal muscle loss might be the IL-6 related factor.