CHARACTERIZATION OF THE IMMUNE RESPONSE THROUGH CYTOKINE PROFILING AND CORRELATIONAL ANALYSIS IN COLORECTAL MALIGNANT TUMORS

Objectives. Interleukins and cell adhesion molecules were intensively studied for their potential role as biomarkers in colorectal cancer (CRC). However, there is a complex relational network in the tumor microenvironment and in the immune response of colorectal tumors; therefore, there is a need for complex approaches in cytokine biology in CRC, reflecting the complexity of this tumor biology field. The present study is addressing this problem by investigating the behaviour of some cytokines representative for the main immune networks in CRC immunology. Methods. Thirty-three patients with confirmed CRC and thirty-five age and sex-matched healthy controls were enrolled in the study. The serum levels of nine interleukins - IL-1β, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-17A, IL-22, IL-33, IFN (interferon)-γ, two cell adhesion molecules-ICAM-1 and P-sel (P-selectin)- and a matrixmetalloproteinase (MMP-7) were measured in patients and controls. The results were processed in order to find molecules with correlated behaviour and to decipher the patterns of the immune response modules organization. Keywords: colorectal cancer, cytokine, correlation, network