Immunobiochemical profile of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC): A preliminary study

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is the most common variant of RCC. It is an aggressive disease with an unfavorable prognosis. The rich immune infiltrates present in the tumor microenvironment (TME) of ccRCC produce various signaling molecules, especially cytokines, which primarily activate the Jak/STAT pathway and significantly influence tumor pathogenesis. STAT3 has a well-defined oncogenic character. Using multiplex assays and ELISA, we have measured the concentrations of 27 cytokines and STAT3 in tumor and healthy renal tissue from 16 patients with histologically verified ccRCC. We have detected significantly higher levels of G-CSF, IL-6, CXCL10, CCL3, and CCL4 in tumor tissue than in their healthy counterparts. There were significant differences in the levels of IL-1 beta and PDGF-BB between tumors of different nuclear grades (NG). Intra-tumoral IL-12p70 and IL-15 showed a significant positive correlation with intratumoral STAT3. The concentration of STAT3 in tumors was significantly lower than in the kidney. An increase in tumor STAT3 levels was associated with an increase in the pathological stage of the disease (TNM), but not with NG. The results of our study confirm the significant role of various cytokines and STAT3 in the pathogenesis of ccRCC and indicate their clinical relevance.