E-CADHERIN AND IL-6 SERUM LEVELS IN PATIENTS AFFECTED BY PROSTATE CANCER BEFORE AND AFTER PROSTATECTOMY

The 80 kDa soluble form of E-cad (sE-cad) and the cytokine IL-6 are being discussed as supplemental serum markers for prostate cancer (PCa). To address this issue we determined serum levels of sE-cad and IL-6 in sixty-one patients with localized or locally advanced PCa, who did not receive any previous treatment. Serum samples were collected with standard procedure, before and after prostatectomy. The samples were kept at -80°C till the time of assays, performed by using commercially available ELISA kits. At the same time, serum PSA levels were measured. sE-cad levels were 6.0 ± 2.7 (mean ± SD) μg/ml and 4.6 ± 2.3 μg/ml, before and after prostatectomy, respectively. A highly statistically significant decrease in sE-cad concentrations after prostatectomy was observed (p<0.0001, paired Student’s t-test), in 50/61 patients (82%). sE-cad levels before and after surgery were correlated (Pearson’s correlation coefficient, r=0.6993, p<0.0001). sE-cad values detected after surgery were higher in patients with PSA levels >10 ng/ml (p<0.05, Student’s t-test). sE-cad levels before prostatectomy were significantly higher in patients with G3 tumours with respect to those with G2 tumours (p<0.02, Student’s t-test). sE-cad concentrations both before and after surgery were higher in tumours with Gleason score 7 with respect to those with Gleason score <7 (p<0.002 and p<0.05, respectively, Student’s t-test). Preliminary data from 20 patients indicated a statistically significant increase in IL-6 levels after prostatectomy (11.2 vs 7.2 pg/ml, p<0.001, paired Student’s t-test). No correlation was found between sE-cad or IL-6 and PSA or other pathological parameters. Our results clearly show that prostatectomy determines a reduction in the levels of sE-cad in patients affected by localized or locally advanced PCa. One more relevant finding is that concentrations of sE-cad are higher in preoperative samples of less differentiated PCa. This suggests that sE-cad might be used as a marker of tumour aggressiveness at the diagnosis.