Abstract

Little is known on clinical and diagnostic relevance of interleukin-32 in gastrointestinal tract (GIT) cancers. We determined its mRNA (n = 52) and protein (n = 63) expression in paired (tumor-normal) samples from esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and gastric (GC) and colorectal cancer (CRC) patients, with reference to cancer-associated genes, and quantified circulating interleukin-32 in 70 cancer patients and 28 controls. IL32 expression was significantly upregulated solely in ESCC, reflecting T stage in non-transformed tumor-adjacent tissue. Fold-change in IL32 and IL-32 was higher in left-sided CRC, owing to high interleukin expression in non-transformed right-sided colonic mucosa. IL32 was independently and positively associated with Ki67, HIF1A, and ACTA2 and negatively with TJP1 in tumors and with IL10Ra and BCLxL in non-transformed tumor-adjacent tissue. IL-32 protein was significantly upregulated in colorectal tumors. In ESCC, advanced stage and lymph node metastasis were associated with significant IL-32 upregulation. Circulating interleukin was significantly elevated in cancer patients, more so in ESCC and GC than CRC. As biomarker, IL-32 detected gastroesophageal cancers with 99.5% accuracy. In conclusion, IL-32 is upregulated in GIT cancers at local and systemic level, reflecting hypoxia and proliferative and invasive/metastatic capacity in tumors and immunosuppressive and antiapoptotic potential in non-transformed mucosa, while being an accurate biomarker of gastroesophageal cancers.

Highlights

  • Gastrointestinal tract (GIT) cancers, encompassing adenocarcinomas of the colorectum (CRC) and stomach (GC) and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), are the most common and deadliest malignancies [1]

  • Relative IL32 expression was determined in patient-matched samples from tumor and non-transformed mucosa adjacent to tumor (52 pairs), obtained from 17 patients with ESCC, 14 with GC, and 21 with CRC using reverse-transcribed quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-Quantitative (real-time) polymerase chain reaction (qPCR))

  • Despite growing interest in IL-32, there is a scarcity of data concerning its status in the GIT cancers while its diagnostic utility has not been previously determined

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Summary

Introduction

Gastrointestinal tract (GIT) cancers, encompassing adenocarcinomas of the colorectum (CRC) and stomach (GC) and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), are the most common and deadliest malignancies [1]. The GIT cancers, ESCC and GC in particular, are frequently diagnosed when advanced, rendering them non-amenable for curative resection. Available therapeutic options fail to improve outcomes for patients with gross metastatic disease and cancers resistant to chemo- and radiotherapy [2,3,4,5]. There is a growing awareness that in order to improve prognosis, a better understanding of cancer-associated abnormalities at molecular level is urgently needed to facilitate biomarker discovery and develop and implement patient-tailored approach, referred to as “precision medicine” [6,7,8,9]

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