Clinical significance of serum soluble interleukin-2 receptor levels in patients with lung cancer

The aim of this study was designed to determine the serum sIL-2R level as an index of tumor burden, and its predictive value in response to chemotherapy and prognosis. The serum levels of sIL-2R were measured by an Enzyme linked Immunosorbent Assay in 58 lung cancer patients （32 cases with operation and 26 with chemotherapy） and 29 healthy adults served as controls. The results showed that the serum sIL-2R levels in lung cancer patients were significantly higher than those of healthy controls （P ＜0.01）. The serum levels of sIL-2R were reduced obviously after operation （P ＜0.01）, and were closely related to the histological differentiation of tumor （P ＜0.05）, but no correlations were noted among the sIL-2R level, pathological type, and TNM stage（P ＞0.05）. The serum levels after chemothrapy were not different from those of prechemotherapy （P ＞0.05）. Meanwhile, the reduced levels of IL-2R were not related to the immediate response to chemotherapy （P ＞0.05）. These results seem to suggest that monitoring serum IL-2R levels has clinical and prognositic significance in patients with lung cancer.