| pubmed-article:11154036 | pubmed:abstractText | Interleukin-18 (IL-18) is a multifunctional cytokine which may play an important role in cancer. In previous studies it has been reported that mononuclear cells from breast cancer patients were defective in cytokine production. In this report we examined in vitro IL-18 release by monocytes (Mo) and differentiated monocytes (Mphi) for 6 or 12 days from healthy donors (HD) and nonmetastatic breast cancer (BCa) patients prior to chemo-, hormonal or radiotherapy. Our results show no production of this cytokine by Mo and Mphi for 6 days in all the experimental conditions. HD Mphi cultured for 12 days were responsive to lipopolysaccharides only after 24 h of treatment, while significantly (p<0.05) lower amounts of IL-18 were produced by BCa Mphi cultures in the same experimental conditions. Since BCa Mphi are defective in IL-18 production, and this cytokine elicits in vivo protective antitumor effects, we hypothesize a future possibility for the use of IL-18 in cancer therapy. | lld:pubmed |
