Biomed Pap Med Fac Univ Palacky Olomouc Czech Repub. 2023, 167(4):335-339 | DOI: 10.5507/bp.2022.050

CCL2, CCL8, CXCL12 chemokines in resectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)

Marie Drosslerova¹, Martina Sterclova¹, Alice Taskova², Vladislav Hytych², Eva Richterova³, Magdalena Bruzova³, Miloslav Spunda⁴, Martin Komarc⁴, Martina Koziar Vasakova¹

¹ Department of Respiratory Medicine, 1st Faculty of Medicine, Charles University and Thomayer University Hospital, Videnska 800, 140 00 Prague 4, Czech Republic

² Department of Thoracic Surgery, Thomayer University Hospital, Videnska 800, 140 00 Prague 4, Czech Republic

³ Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, 3rd Faculty of Medicine, Charles University and Thomayer University Hospital, Videnska 800, 140 00 Prague 4, Czech Republic

⁴ Institute of Biophysics and Informatics, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Salmovska 1, 120 00 Prague 2, Czech Republic

Background: Complex networks of chemokines are part of the immune reaction targeted against tumor cells. Chemokines influence cancer growth. It is unclear whether the concentrations of chemokines at the time of NSCLC (non-small cell lung cancer) diagnosis differ from healthy controls and reflect the extent of NSCLC.

Aims: To compare chemokine concentrations (CCL2, CCL8, CXCL12) in the plasma of patients with resectable NSCLC to those without cancer. To determine whether the chemokine concentrations differ relative to the stage of disease.

Methods: Sixty-nine patients undergoing surgery for proven/suspected NSCLC were enrolled. They underwent standard diagnostic and staging procedures to determine resectability, surgery was performed. Forty-two patients were diagnosed with NSCLC, while 27patients had benign lung lesions and functioned as the control group. Chemokine concentrations in peripheral blood were assessed using ELISA. Parametric statistics were used for the analysis of results.

Results: There were no differences in plasma chemokine concentrations in NSCLC patients compared to controls. CXCL12 concentrations correlated positively with tumor extent expressed as clinical stage, (mean values: stage I 5.08 ng/mL, SEM 0.59; stage II and IIIA 7.82 ng/mL; SEM 1.06; P=0.022). Patients with NSCLC stages II+IIIA had significantly higher CXCL12 concentrations than controls (mean values: stage II+IIIA 7.82 ng/mL; SEM 1.06; controls 5.3 ng/mL; SEM 0.46; P=0.017).

Conclusion: CXCL12 was related to tumor growth and could potentially be used as a biomarker of advanced disease.

Keywords: NSCLC, resectability, chemokine CCL2, chemokine CCL8, chemokine CXCL12, peripheral blood, ELISA method, biomarker

Received: July 19, 2022; Revised: November 7, 2022; Accepted: December 1, 2022; Prepublished online: January 9, 2023; Published: December 4, 2023  Show citation