Role of IL4 and GMCSF in Predicting Survival in Esophageal Cancer

Abstract

Background: Esophageal cancer (EC) originates in the setting of chronic inflammation. Although previous studies have sought to understand the role of inflammatory signaling in EC, the effect of these immunologic changes on patient outcomes remains understudied. This study's objective was to identify relationships between cytokine levels and prognosis in a mixed cohort of esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients.

Study design: A total of 37 serum cytokines were profiled at the time of resection using multiplex ELISA in 47 patients (42 esophageal adenocarcinoma, 5 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma). Cytokine levels were median-binarized and assessed using Cox regression models. Findings were validated at the RNA level using The Cancer Genome Atlas EC cohort (81 esophageal adenocarcinoma, 81 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma).

Results: Univariable analysis revealed high serum interleukin 4 (IL4) and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GMCSF) were negatively associated with overall survival (p = 0.046, p = 0.040). Multivariable analysis determined both high serum IL4 or high serum GMCSF were negatively associated with survival independent of important clinical factors (hazard ratio [HR] 7.55, p < 0.001; HR 5.24, p = 0.001). These findings were validated at the RNA level in The Cancer Genome Atlas EC cohort, where multivariable analysis identified high IL4 expression, high CSF2 expression (encodes GMCSF), and advanced pathologic stage as independent negative predictors of survival when controlled for clinical factors (HR 2.35, p = 0.012; HR 1.97, p = 0.040).

Conclusions: These results show that high IL4/GMCSF levels are negatively associated with survival in EC. These relationships are independent of pathologic stage and are identified across modalities, histologic subtypes, and the presence/absence of neoadjuvant therapy.