Document Type : Original Article(s)

Authors

1 Shiraz Institute for Cancer Research, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

2 Department of Surgery, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

3 Department of Immunology, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

Abstract

Background: Several recent studies demonstrated that transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β), by stimulating T regulatory cells, and interleukins 6 and 17 (IL-6, IL- 17), by inducing inflammatory reactions, may be critical factors in cancer pathogenesis.Methods: We used quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction assays to quantify the expression of IL-17, IL-6 and TGF-β mRNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and lymphocytes from draining lymph nodes of 60 women with breast cancer. The results were compared according to the patients’ clinical or pathological status.Results: Higher amounts of IL-17 and IL-6 mRNA, but not TGF-β transcripts, were found in patients compared to controls. There were no significant differences between patients with negative or positive nodes or with different histological grades or stages of disease.Conclusion: Most women in this analysis had stage I or II disease. We thus conclude that IL-17, a prominent proinflammatory cytokine, may play an important role in recruiting and infiltrating antitumor immune responses in early stages of breast cancer.