Serum levels of CXCL13 are an independent predictor of survival following resection of biliary tract cancer

Background The prognosis of biliary tract cancer (BTC) has remained poor. Although tumor resection represents a potentially curative therapy for selected patients, disease recurrence is common and 5-year survival rates remain below 50 %. As stratification algorithms comprising parameters of the individual tumor biology are missing, the identification of the ideal patients for extensive liver surgery is often challenging. The CXC chemokine family exerts decisive functions in cell-cell interactions and has only recently been associated with cancer. However, only very little is known on their role in BTC. Here, we aim at evaluating a potential role of circulating CXCL1, CXCL10 and CXCL13 in patients with resectable BTC.

Methods Serum levels of CXCL1, CXCL10 and CXCL13 were measured by multiplex immunoassay in a cohort of 119 BTC undergoing tumor resection as well as 50 healthy control samples.

Results Circulating levels CXCL1, CXCL10 and CXLC13 were all significantly elevated in BTC patients compared to healthy controls and increased the diagnostic power of established tumor markers when used in combination. Importantly, elevated levels of CXCL13 both before and after tumor resection identified a subgroup of patients with a significantly impaired outcome following tumor resection. As such, BTC patients with initial CXCL13 levels above the ideal prognostic cut-off value (25.01 pg/ml) had a median OS of 290 days compared to 969 days for patients with low initial CXCL13 levels. The prognostic value of circulating CXCL13 was further confirmed by uni- and multivariate Cox-regression analyses. Finally, the individual kinetic of CXCL13 before and after tumor resection was also indicative for patients’ outcome.

Conclusion Our data suggest a fundamental role of the CXC chemokine family in BTC and identified circulating levels of CXCL13 as a previously unrecognized parameter for the prediction of outcome following resection of BTC.

Publikationsverlauf

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
08. September 2020