Table 1.
Study characteristics and results of evaluating relation with survival parameters and serum IL-6 concentrations and expression in HNSCC
| Study | Tumor location | Study population | IL-6 evaluation | IL-6 cutoff value | Follow-up (yr) | Survival analysis | Risk analysis | Hazard ratio (95% CI) | Highlights |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chang et al. (2013) [21] | Oral cavity | 149 | Serum concentration | 1.35 pg/mL | 5 | OSS | Multivariate | 2.417 (1.242–4.703), P =0.009 | Serum IL-6 levels were independent predictors of OSS and DSS in patients with OSCC. |
| DSS | 2.364 (1.166–4.796), P =0.017 | ||||||||
| Shinagawa et al. (2017) [36] | Oral cavity | 116 | Immunohistochemical examination | - | 5 | DFS | Univariate | P =0.01 | IL-6 expression was associated with 5-year DFS. |
| Allen et al. (2007) [31] | Oropharynx (locally advanced) | 30 | Serum concentration | Quartiles | 3 | DSS | - | 3.8 (2.0-7.4), P =0.004 (adjusted according to smoking history) | Longitudinal increasing IL-6 serum levels associated with poor DSS in patients with locally advanced oropharyngeal SCC |
| Hao et al. (2013) [32] | Larynx | 92 | Serum concentration | 9.7 pg/mL | 5 | OSS | Multivariate | 1.953, P =0.040 | Serum elevated IL-6 levels were associated with OSS and PFS. |
| PFS | 1.885, P =0.049 | ||||||||
| De Schutter et al. (2005) [33] | Head-neck | 34 | Serum concentration | 5.4 pg/mL | 5 | OSS | Multivariate | 7.61 (1.82–31.80), P =0.005 | IL-6 was an independent predictor of OSS and DFS. |
| DFS | 3.39 (1.22–9.39), P =0.02 | ||||||||
| Duffy et al. (2008) [34] | Head-neck | 444 | Serum concentration | Quartiles | 2 | OSS | Multivariate | 1.22 (1.02–1.46), P =0.03 | Pretreatment serum IL-6 was a valuable marker for predicting OSS in patients with HNSCC. |
| Gao et al. (2016) [28] | Head-neck | 399 | IL-6 expression | 500 FPKM | 5 | Survival rate | - | P =0.017 | Overexpression of IL-6 had a significantly reduced 5-year survival. |
| Lesinski et al. (2019) [39] | Oropharyngeal | 59 | IL-6 expression | Median | 5 | OSS | - | P =0.964 | No relation between IL-6 expression and OSS, DFS |
| DFS | P =0.498 | ||||||||
| Aarstad et al. (2015) [40]a) | Head-neck | 65 | In vitro, monocyte IL-6 secretion | - | 15 | OSS | Multivariate | 3.25 (1.49–7.08), P =0.03 | LPS stimulated monocyte IL-6 secretion was predicted poor survival. |
| Heimdal et al. (2008) [41]a) | Head-neck | 65 | In vitro, monocyte IL-6 secretion | - | 5 | OSS | - | 2.67 (1.03–6.92), P <0.05 | Endotoxin induced IL-6 oversecretion in vitro was predicted poor OSS and DSS. |
| DSS | 2.31 (1.02–5.21), P <0.05 (adjusted according to TNM stage) | ||||||||
| Chen et al. (2010) [35] | Pharynx | 95 | Immunohistochemical examination | 5 | OSS | Multivariate | 0.389 (0.180–0.840), P =0.016 | IL-6 immunostaining was significantly related with shorter survival in patients with pharyngeal cancer. | |
| Jinno et al. (2015) [37] | Oral cavity | 78 | Immunohistochemical examination | - | 5 | Survival rate | - | P <0.05 | Patients with high IL-6 expression had poorer DSS rates compared to negative/lower IL-6 expression. |
| Chen et al. (2012) [38] | Oral cavity | 337 | Immunohistochemical examination | - | 8 | OSS | Multivariate | 1.389 (1.021–1.890), P =0.036 | Poorer OSS was seen in overexpressed IL-6 OSSC patients. |
IL-6, interleukin-6; HNSCC, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma; CI, confidence interval; OSS, overall survival; DSS, disease-specific survival; OSCC, oral squamous cell carcinoma; DFS, disease free survival; FPKM, fragments per kilobase per million mapped reads; LPS, lipopolysaccharide.
a)
Indicates studies from the same facility.