Serum soluble interleukin-2 (IL-2) receptor levels in women with breast carcinoma and its correlation with IL-2 receptor expression on blood lymphocytes and lymphocytic infiltration within the tumour

Summary This study describes serum levels of soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R) in 13 healthy women, 10 women with breast dysplasia and 37 patients with breast carcinoma. A difference was found between sIL-2R levels in normal women and cancer patients. sIL-2R increased with the advance in stage of cancer but the extent of increase fell from stage III to stage IV as compared to the change from stage II to stage III. Of the 15 patients who were followed after surgery and/or therapy, 10 (67%) showed a fall in the serum sIL-2R levels. A negative correlation was found between sIL-2R levels and lymphocytic infiltration only within the malignant tissue. These findings probably indicate that sIL-2R exerts an immunomodulatory effect on blood lymphocytes by preventing their infiltration into the tumour tissue. To our knowledge, this is the first report of its kind in immunology of breast carcinoma.