Purpose: To explore the clinical significance of serum interleukin-8 (IL-8) level in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC).
Methods: Twenty-seven serum specimens pathologically confirmed as OSCC were tested,10 healthy serum specimens were used as control. The expression of serum IL-8 was measured by ELISA. Data was presented as mean ± standard error. Statistical analysis was performed by SPSS 13.0 software package and two-tailed independent sample t test was used to determine the difference between the two groups.
Results: The level of serum IL-8 in OSCC patients was significantly higher than that in the control (P < 0.01). The high expression of IL-8 correlated with clinical pathologic stage (P < 0.01) and lymph node metastasis (P < 0.05).
Conclusions: The expression of serum IL-8 correlates significantly with the biological behavior of OSCC, and it can be used as a prognostic molecular marker for OSCC. Supported by the Third Session of Excellent Youth Foundation of Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine.