A prognostic insight on in vivo expression of interleukin-6 in uterine cervical cancer

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a multifunctional cytokine with a growth promoting role in cancers. In an attempt to evaluate the prognostic significance of IL-6, we have studied the localization of this cytokine by immunohistochemical methods in normal, premalignant, and invasive cervical cancers. We stained frozen sections with a monoclonal antibody specific for human IL-6 and demonstrated that tumor cells show positivity with high intensity and stromal cells with moderate intensity. T cells and macrophages, components of the stroma that secrete IL-6, were also looked at. While T cells showed a weak positive correlation, CD68-positive macrophages showed significant positive correlation (P < 0.05) with IL-6 positivity in stroma. The patients were followed up for 40 months after treatment with standard radiotherapy regimen and showed residual tumor where pretreatment IL-6 levels were high. Our results suggest its possible candidature as a prognostic indicator of cervical cancer.