Introduction: Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine and an anti-inflammatory myokine. Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most common type of leukemia in adults. The exact role of IL-6 in CLL is still contraversial and needs alot of research.
Aim of the study: To measure serum level of interleukin-6 among Iraqi patients from Babil province with a newly diagnosed untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia and to assess it's association with the stage of the disease and peripheral blood indices.
Materials and methods: This is a case-control study included 106 Iraqi patients with a newly diagnosed untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). They were from Babil province and attended the hospital during the period from 1st of November 2012 to 30th of October 2015, while the control group included 106 age and sex matched healthy individuals. CBC, blood film and serum IL-6 (Human IL-6 ELISA kit ) were done for both groups, and bone marrow exam was performed for the patients only.
Results: The age of the patients ranged from 44 to 82 years with mean age of 61.8 ±6.14 years. Male:Female ratio was 1.8:1 and 57.5% of them were asymptomatic. Serum IL-6 was undetected in 39.6% (42/106) of the control cases and in 13.2% (14/106) of the patients; all of them were in CLL stages 0 and 1. Mean serum IL-6 in the patient group was 12.6 ±5.1 pg/ml, while it was 6.2 ±2.3 pg/ml in the control group (P-value was 0.001). Higher levels were documented in stages 3 and 4 (P-value 0.0001).
Conclusion and recommendations: Elevated serum IL-6 was found among Iraqi patients with newly diagnosed untreated CLL, and higher levels were documented in advanced stage disease. Further studies are needed to assess exact role of IL-6 in CLL as it may have prognostic and/or therapeutic implications.
