Abstract
Interleukin (IL)-10 is a pleiotropic cytokine with potent inhibitory effects towards TH-1 cells. IL-10 inhibits secretion of IL-2 and interferon (IFN)γ by T cells and downregulates major histocompatibility complex antigens. A variety of tumor cells secrete IL-10, which can inhibit growth of tumor-specific cytotoxic T cells. IL-10 expression has also been detected in B-cell lymphomas and Hodgkin's disease (HD), and it has been suggested that the cytokine is involved in the pathogenesis of these tumors. We analyzed levels of IL-10 in pretreatment sera of 64 patients with HD and healthy controls using a sensitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Patients with biopsy-proven HD were enrolled in trials of the German Hodgkin Study Group (GHSG). Elevated IL-10 levels were detected in the sera of nine patients with HD (14.1%) (range 4.5–225.6 pg/ml with a mean of 61.5 pg/ml). IL-10 was not detectable in a control population of healthy volunteers (n=90). Multivariate analyses revealed a significant correlation between elevated IL-10 levels and higher age (over 45 years) but not with any other factors defined by the international prognostic factor score. Patients with elevated IL-10 levels had a significantly lower freedom from treatment failure rate as detected in univariate and multivariate tests. Thus, IL-10 may serve as an independent prognostic factor for HD patients.
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Received: 8 March 1999 / Accepted: 9 September 1999
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Bohlen, H., Kessler, M., Sextro, M. et al. Poor clinical outcome of patients with Hodgkin's Disease and elevated interleukin-10 serum levels . Ann Hematol 79, 110–113 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1007/s002770050564
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s002770050564