Correlation of interleukin-6 and C-reactive protein levels in plasma with the stage and differentiation of colorectal cancer: A cross-sectional study in East Indonesia

Introduction

Tumors most often develop due to inflammatory factors, including inflammatory cells that produce cytokines and cytotoxic mediators that can stimulate malignant transformation. Knowing that interleukin-6 (IL-6) and C-reactive protein (CRP) factor into the development of colorectal cancer (CRC), we aimed to assess IL-6 and CRP's relationship with the stage and differentiation of CRC.

Methods

In a sample of 46 patients with CRC, as confirmed by histopathological examination, plasma levels of IL-6 and CRP were measured from peripheral venous blood samples before surgery and examined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Results

Most patients were male (63.0%) and at least 50 years old (73.9%). A positive correlation emerged between stage of CRC and both plasma IL-6 (r = 0.396, p = .003) and CRP (r = 0.376, p = .005) levels, which the Kruskal–Wallis test indicated were highest in stage IV (IL-6: median = 25.80, p = .019; CRP: median = 34.10, p = .040). Plasma IL-6 levels (median = 25.80, p = .019) were higher in well-differentiated CRC, whereas plasma CRP levels (median = 34.10, p = .040] were higher in poorly differentiated tissue. Linear plotting revealed a linear relationship between plasma IL-6 and plasma CRP levels in patients with CRC.

Conclusion

Because the stage of CRC significantly correlates with plasma IL-6 and CRP levels, IL-6 and CRP can serve as diagnostic factors in assessing the progress and prognosis of CRC.

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Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels can indicate inflammation.

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Chronic inflammation affects the progression of colorectal cancer (CRC).

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An association exists between IL-6, CRP, and stage of CRC.

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IL-6 and CRP can be diagnostic factors in assessing CRC's progression.

Assessment of Density of Neovascularization in Lower Lip Squamous Cell Carcinoma in Relation To Neoplasm Differentiation Grade in Patients with and without Neck Lymph Nodes Metastasis

BACKGROUND

Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the lower lip is a relatively rare carcinoma, with the incidence of 1 to 2%, but it is the most common carcinoma in the oral cavity accounting for 25-30% of all malignant oral tumours.

AIM

This study aimed to determine the role of neovascularisation in the process of tumour progression.

METHODS

We analysed the surgical specimens obtained from 60 patients with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the lower lip. The examined group consisted of 45 specimens of patients without metastasis and 15 specimens of patients with metastasis in the regional lymph nodes. Histopathological slides were immunohistochemically stained with an antibody against CD34 and by hematoxylin & eosin staining for routine histopathological examination.

RESULTS

The results obtained showed a statistically significant difference in the density of neovascularisation between groups of the SCC with different grade of differentiation (Kruskal-Wallis test: H (2, N = 60) = 30.0943, p = 0.00001). Statistical analysis also showed a significant difference in the density of vascularisation of lower lip SCC between patients without metastasis and patients with neck metastasis (Mann-Whitney U test, p = 0.000198). Applying Pearson's chi-square test, we found a highly significant statistical difference in grade of SCC differentiation in patients with and without neck metastasis (p = 0.0000).

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, the density of neoangiogenesis is increased in tumours with poorer differentiation and in patients with neck metastasis. So, the density of neovascularisation of the primary lip SCC may predict the tumour progression.

Computer-aided evaluation of neuroblastoma on whole-slide histology images: Classifying grade of neuroblastic differentiation

Neuroblastoma (NB) is one of the most frequently occurring cancerous tumors in children. The current grading evaluations for patients with this disease require pathologists to identify certain morphological characteristics with microscopic examinations of tumor tissues. Thanks to the advent of modern digital scanners, it is now feasible to scan cross-section tissue specimens and acquire whole-slide digital images. As a result, computerized analysis of these images can generate key quantifiable parameters and assist pathologists with grading evaluations. In this study, image analysis techniques are applied to histological images of haematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stained slides for identifying image regions associated with different pathological components. Texture features derived from segmented components of tissues are extracted and processed by an automated classifier group trained with sample images with different grades of neuroblastic differentiation in a multi-resolution framework. The trained classification system is tested on 33 whole-slide tumor images. The resulting whole-slide classification accuracy produced by the computerized system is 87.88%. Therefore, the developed system is a promising tool to facilitate grading whole-slide images of NB biopsies with high throughput.