Cytokine profiles in patients receiving wide-field + prostate boost radiotherapy (xRT) for adenocarcinoma of the prostate.

As a result of the association between ionizing irradiation and the induction of inflammatory and fibrogenic cytokines, circulating levels of IL-1alpha, macrophage colony stimulating factor (M-CSF) and TGFbeta were measured in a group of 37 patients who presented with well-defined adenocarcinoma of the prostate and were treated with wide-field pelvic (WFP) + prostate boost (PB) radiotherapy (xRT) according to RTOG protocols 94-08 and 94-13. First and foremost, patients with prostate cancer (PC) were found to have a significantly (p<0.05) elevated plasma level of the three cytokines prior to treatment. Moreover, during WFP + PB xRT, these circulating cytokine levels were further elevated, the elevation occurring in the form of cyclic waves; the concurrent waves of elevated IL-1alpha and M-CSF preceding that of TGFbeta. In addition to providing support for the existence of a humoral response to xRT in patients receiving WFP + PB xRT, the data demonstrated a significant correlation between the integral radiation dose (ID) and the temporal expression and magnitude of plasma IL-1alpha, M-CSF and TGFbeta levels in patients that had received 1-5 fractions (1.8-9Gy) of WFP + PB xRT. Thereafter, the appearance of elevated waves of cytokine expression in the patient's plasma continued independent of additional fractions of WFP + PB xRT.