Objectives Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) are proinflammatory cytokines that play a major role in tumorigenesis. These biomarkers are relatively unexplored in gallbladder cancer (GBC) for their diagnostic and prognostic utility.

Material and Methods A total of 40 healthy controls and 40 GBC patients were recruited. Serum IL-6 and TNF-α levels were measured, and their diagnostic utility was analyzed using the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve. The relationship between clinicopathological variables and serum tumor markers (CEA, CA125, and CA19-9) in identifying GBC patients was also assessed.

Results Serum IL-6 and TNF-α expression were significantly higher in the GBC group (for both IL-6 and TNF-α, p = 0.0001) than in healthy controls. ROC analysis revealed that the areas under the curve for serum IL-6 and TNF-α were 0.89 and 0.71, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity for serum IL-6 were 82.5 and 97.5%, respectively, at an optimal cutoff value of 10.34 pg/mL; for TNF-α, they were 40.0 and 100%, respectively, at a cutoff value of 0.24 pg/mL. There was also a significant difference in serum IL-6 levels between the resectable and nonresectable GBC groups. Serum IL-6 showed a positive correlation with CA125 (r = 0.34, p < 0.05), while no correlation was observed between serum TNF-α and serum tumor markers (CEA, CA125, and CA19-9).

Conclusion Serum IL-6 may serve as a diagnostic marker and a predictor of resectability, and it can be used in conjunction with other serum tumor markers in GBC.

Ethical approval was given by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India, under reference number 422/IEC/M. Sc/2020.

*Co-first authors.

Article published online:
24 August 2023

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