Association of pro-inflammatory soluble cytokine receptors early during hepatocellular carcinoma stereotactic radiotherapy with liver toxicity

Sylvia S W Ng; Hong Zhang; Lisa Wang; Deborah Citrin; Laura A Dawson

doi:10.1038/s41698-020-0124-z

Association of pro-inflammatory soluble cytokine receptors early during hepatocellular carcinoma stereotactic radiotherapy with liver toxicity

NPJ Precis Oncol. 2020 Jul 14:4:17. doi: 10.1038/s41698-020-0124-z. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Sylvia S W Ng^{1

2}, Hong Zhang³, Lisa Wang⁴, Deborah Citrin³, Laura A Dawson^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Radiation Medicine Program, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto, ON Canada.
² Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON Canada.
³ Radiation Oncology Branch, Centre for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD USA.
⁴ Department of Biostatistics, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto, ON Canada.

Abstract

Plasma levels of soluble factors early during hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) were evaluated in relation to radiation liver injury, tumor response, and risk of early death. No significant differences were found in baseline plasma levels of AFP, CXCL1, and HGF amongst HCC patients with different Child Pugh scores. Higher levels of sTNFRII (P < 0.001), and lower levels of sCD40L (P < 0.001) and CXCL1 (P = 0.01) following one to two fractions of SBRT were noted in patients who developed liver toxicity vs. those who did not. High circulating levels of AFP (HR 2.16, P = 0.04), sTNFRII (HR 2.27, P = 0.01), and sIL-6R (HR 1.99, P = 0.03) early during SBRT were associated with increased risk of death 3 months post treatment. Plasma levels of the studied factors early during SBRT were not associated with tumor response. A pro-inflammatory systemic environment is associated with development of liver toxicity and increased risk of early death following SBRT.

Keywords: Hepatocellular carcinoma.