Elevated level of some chemokines in plasma of gastric cancer patients

Introduction: Gastric cancer is one of the most common cancer-related causes of death. This is mainly due to the lack of good noninvasive method/biomarkers suitable for early-tumour diagnosis and planning of further therapy modalities. Chemokines play an important role in cancer progression and metastasis formation. In gastric cancer patients, clinical relevance of CXCL 12 and CCL 5 level has been postulated. Aim of the study: Efforts were undertaken to examine whether expanded chemokine range may be relevant for evaluation of preoperative staging of gastric cancer patients. Material and methods: Plasma from 66 gastric cancer patients and 11 healthy controls was obtained, and CCL 2, CCL 3, CCL 4, CCL 5, CXCL 8, CXCL 9, and CXCL 10 levels were determined by flow cytometry FlexSet system. Results: In gastric cancer patients' plasma an increased level of CCL 2, CCL 4, CCL 5, CXCL 8, CXCL 9, and CXCL 10 was observed. In the case of CCL 2, CXCL 9, and CXCL 10, the chemokine levels correlated with advanced (II and IV in TNM classification) disease stage. In the case of CCL 4, CCL 5, and CXCL 8, elevated levels were observed in all cancer patients in comparison to healthy donors. Conclusions: The accuracy of preoperative diagnosis in gastric cancer may include the monitoring of a wide range of chemokines in patients' plasma. Increased levels of chemokines may warn that the disease is more advanced than conventional diagnostic procedures suggest.