Enhanced cytokine response to surgical trauma in patients with colorectal cancer.

Objective: Cancer is an immunologic challenge, and it was hypothesized that the presence of a cancer could modulate the cytokine response to operative trauma.

Setting: University hospital, Sweden.

Subjects: Patients operated with colonic or rectal resections; 9 patients with colorectal cancer and 16 patients with benign lesions--8 of which were inflammatory.

Intervention: Venous blood samples were collected preoperatively; every 30 min intraoperatively; 6 h postoperatively and daily for 6 days in the postoperative period.

Main Outcome Measures: IL-1beta and TNF-alpha were analyzed by commercial ELISAs, whereas IL-6 was analyzed by the B9 bio-assay.

Results: Preoperative cytokine levels were similar in the malignant and benign groups, but intraoperative IL-6, IL-1beta and TNF-alpha serum levels and postoperative IL-6 and TNF-alpha serum levels were significantly (p < 0.05) higher in the malignant group.

Conclusion: The results indicate that colorectal malignancy enhances the IL-1beta, TNF-alpha and IL-6 response to surgical trauma.