Serological landscape of cytokines in cutaneous melanoma

BACKGROUND: To date, serological markers to monitor melanoma progression and response to therapy are lacking. In this context cytokines appear to be promising biomarkers of the disease. OBJECTIVE: To compare cytokine and chemokine levels in melanoma patients and in healthy controls and to assess possible variations according to melanoma stage. METHODS: Serum chemokine and cytokine levels were determined by ELISA in 34 patients diagnosed histologically of malignant melanoma. Seven healthy volunteers were used as controls. RESULTS: We found a subset of cytokines (CCL3, CCL4, IFN-γ and IL-10) to be significantly higher in melanoma patients than in control group, thus confirming the importance of the inflammation in cancer. While CCL3 increased with tumor progression, IFN-γ and IL-10 showed higher levels in stage I patients. Moreover, we noticed a direct correlation between CCL3 level and the presence of ulceration in the primary tumor; on the contrary, CCL4, IL-10 and IFN-γ were lowered down in patients with ulcerated melanoma. CONCLUSIONS: These results expand and confirm observations made in other studies focusing on a more limited number of molecules. This extended panel of cytokines examines the potential roles of type2 cytokines (such as IL-4) and many chemokines (mainly CCL3) as biomarkers in melanoma progression.