Expression of interleukin-6 and hepcidin in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and their relationship with anemia

Objective To study the expression of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and hepcidin in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma(DLBCL) and their significance in anemia. Methods 45 DLBCL patients with or without anemia were analyzed. Peripheral blood samples were collected during diagnosis, and the concentrations of IL-6, hepcidin, serum ferritin and hemoglobin (Hb) were measured. 24 healthy volunteers were collected as controls. Results The levels of plasma hepcidin and IL-6 in patients with DLBCL were (347±171) μg/L and 0.27 ng/L (0-9.61 ng/L), respectively, and compared with those [(175 ± 92) μg/L] and 0 ng/L in healthy controls, the differences were statistically significant (both P 1 (P=0.010) were increased. The levels of IL-6 in patients of male (P=0.003), stage Ⅲ-Ⅳ (P=0.008) or IPI>1 (P=0.004) were significantly higher. The level of hepcidin was highly correlated with serum ferritin (r=0.77, P<0.001), weakly correlated with IL-6 (r=0.31, P=0.030), and not correlated with Hb (r=-0.12, P=0.3). There was a negative correlation between IL-6 expression and Hb (r=-0.35, P=0.009). Multivariate analysis showed that IL-6 could predict anemia (P=0.03), whereas hepcidin could not (P=0.89). Conclusion The elevated hepcidin level is frequent in DLBCL, and the elevated IL-6 plays the major role in the development of anemia. Key words: Lymphoma, large B-cell, diffuse; Anemia; Interleukin-6; Hepcidin