[The role of interleukin-6 and C-reactive protein in gastric cancer].

It has been suggested that interleukin-6 (IL-6) and C-reactive protein (CRP) play a potential role in the pathogenesis and growth of malignancies. CRP is produced by hepatocytes in response to inflammatory cytokines, especially IL-6. Production of IL-6 by gastric cancer cell lines has been reported. This cytokine may also act in a paracrine and autocrine fashion in tumor cells. Elevated concentrations of IL-6 and CRP were detected in the blood of patients with colorectal, lung, ovarian and gastric cancer. It has been shown that IL-6 and CRP levels correlated with clinicopathological features of gastric cancer, such as: tumor stage, depth of tumor invasion and the presence of lymph node metastasis. Some clinical investigations have suggested the potential significance of IL-6 as prognostic factor for the survival of gastric cancer patients.