SERUM INTERLEUKIN-32 (IL-32) LEVELS MAY HAVE DIAGNOSTIC AND PROGNOSTIC ROLES IN PATIENTS WITH PANCREATIC ADENOCARCINOMA

Background: Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PA) is a very lethal malignancy. Different parameters have been found to be predictive and prognostic. This study was conducted to investigate the serum levels of interleukin-32 (IL-32) in patients with PA and the relationship with tumor progression and known prognostic parameters. Materials and methods: Thirty-three patients with PA were investigated. Blood samples were obtained from patients with PA at first admission, one month after surgery and two weeks before adjuvant or palliative treatment. Age and sex matched 30 healthy controls were included in the analysis. Serum IL-32 levels were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: The median age at diagnosis was 59 years, range 32-84 years; 20 (61%) patients were men. The tumor was located in the head of the pancreas in 21 (63%) patients. The most common metastatic site was liver in 23 patients with metastasis (n = 19, 83%). The median follow-up time was 26.0 weeks (range: 1.0-184.0 weeks). At the end of the observation period, thirty-two patients (97%) were dead. Thirty-nine percent of 23 metastatic patients who received palliative chemotherapy (CTx) were CTx-responsive. Median overall survival (OS) of the whole group was 41.3 +/- 8.3 weeks [95% confidence interval (CI) = 25-58 weeks]. The baseline serum IL-32 levels were significantly higher in patients with PA than in the control group (p=0.04). Serum IL-32 levels were significantly higher in the patients with liver metastatic disease (p=0.05). Moreover, patients with elevated serum IL-32 concentrations had significantly favorable OS compared with those with lower levels (median 47.2 vs 32.7 weeks, respectively, p = 0.05). Conclusion: Despite new therapies; the prognosis of PA is still poor. There is need to find new parameters. Serum levels of IL-32 may be a good diagnostic and prognostic marker for PA according to our data.