Expression of Cytokines Interleukin-2, Interleukin-4, Interleukin-10 and Transforming Growth Factor β in Gastric Adenocarcinoma Biopsies Obtained from Mexican Patients

OBJECTIVE: In this study, expression of Interleukin-2, Interleukin-4, Interleukin-10 and transforming growth factor beta in diffuse and intestinal type gastric cancers from Mexican patients was assessed for use as markers of malignancy. METHODS: A total of 30 biopsies from gastric adenocarcinomas, 60% diffuse, 20% intestinal and 20% mixed in type, were studied by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: Regarding expression of cytokines, 23% were positive for IL-2, 26.7% for IL-4, 16.6% for IL-10 and none for TGF-β. There were found Significant statistically stage differences were noted. For example, for stages I-II 100% were IL-2 positive (p = 0.009), 87.5% were IL-4 positive (p = 0.005) and 100.0% IL-10 positive (p = 0.009). Young women were more likely to suffer gastric adenocarcinoma. In biopsies of male patients with gastric cancer, there was an increased expression of IL-2 and in biopsies from female patients in IL4. There was significantly greater detection of IL-4 and IL-10 expression in stages I and II than in stages III and IV. It was also found that IL-4, IL-10 had a higher positive expression in patients biopsies with low-level differentiations than patients with well differentiated gastric cancer in which cases were undetected. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that positive expression of IL-4 and IL-10 may be useful as a molecular marker to distinguish stage I and II diffuse gastric cancers which can be more readily controlled.