Identification of the peripheral blood levels of interleukin-12, interleukin-10, and transforming growth factor-β in patients with laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

Background. The aim of this study was to investi- gate the biology of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) to develop effective novel treatment modalities. Methods. Serum concentrations of interleukin (IL)-10, IL-12, and transforming growth factor-b (TGF-b) were evaluated in 50 patients with laryngeal SCC and 15 controls. Results were compared according to tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) classifi- cation criteria. Results. IL-12 and TGF-b levels were not different between the early- and late-stage patients and controls. Tumor classifi- cation or nodal involvement was not associated with IL-12 and TGF-b levels. Patients with laryngeal SCC had significantly more detectable serum IL-10 levels than those of controls, given that IL-10 could be detected in only 1 early-stage and 9 late-stage patients, but not in the control group (p ¼ .003). IL- 10 was increasingly detectable with advanced T classification (p ¼ .009) and nodal involvement (p ¼ .008). Conclusions. Serum IL-12 or TGF-b levels were not affected with disease activity and classification; however, se- rum IL-10 levels were correlated with both parameters. V