Expression of interleukin-18 in oral squamous cell carcinoma

Objective:To investigate the expression of interleukin-18 in oral squamous cell carcinoma. Methods:Expression of IL-18 in serum samples of 30 patients with OSCC and 10 healthy controls was determined by ELISA. Furthermore, immunohistochemical analysis was performed on tumor specimens from 36 patients with OSCC and 10 normal mucosal tissues. Results:Compared to healthy controls,the IL-18 in serum level in OSCC patients was significantly higher(P0.05).Significantly higher concentrations of IL-18 could be observed in serum from patients in moderately or poorly differentiated OSCC as compared to well-differentiated OSCC(P0.05).As the tumor invasion progressed, serum IL-18 levels tended to increase, although there was no statistically significance(P0.05). The expression of IL-18 in OSCC tissue specimens was significantly lower compared to healthy subjects(P0.05).The higher the cancer differentiated, the higher the IL-18 expression level is observed(P0.05). IL-18 expression was not found in 19 middle or poorly differentiated OSCC specimens. Conclusion:In the case of OSCC, IL-18 level is increased in serum and decreased in tumor tissues, which indicats negative correlation. It is correlated with differentiation of cancer cell and might be one of the useful patho-grading marker of OSCC.