The Use of the Cytokines EMAP-II, IL-19 and IL-10 as Biomarkers to Determine Prognosis of Non Hodgkin?s Lymphoma

Abstract

Objectives: Establishing diagnostic and prognostic factors are very important in the management of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL). Our aim was to evaluate the clinical significance of serum EMAP-II, IL-19, and IL–10 in NHL patients for assessing treatment response and prognosis of patients. Methods: Serum EMAP-II, IL-19, and IL-10 levels were measured in the serum of 64 NHL patients before and after treatment with CHOP-based chemotherapy by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Correlations of marker levels to the laboratory, clinicopathological and immunophenotyping markers were performed. Results: Serum levels of EMAP-II and IL-10 were higher before therapy and decreased significantly thereafter (P<0.001). High EMAP-II and IL-10 were correlated with serum ALT and blood urea respectively (P=0.043, P=0.020). Significantly higher levels of IL-19 were demonstrated in patients with relapse (P<0.001). A significant association was found between serum IL-19 and AST, CD23 and B-cl2 (P=0.032, P=0.015, P=0.024 respectively). There was a significant correlation between EMAP-II and IL-10 in NHL patients (r=0.827, P<0.001). Conclusion: EMAP-II, IL-19, and IL-10 can all serve as useful diagnostic markers in NHL patients. They assessed response to therapy. IL-19 proved to be the most sensitive predictor of advanced disease and poor prognosis.