Testicular Cancer

Research in the area of testicular cancer reported from University of Bergen

Testicular Cancer Library Library Home This article was published in Clinical Oncology Week, which you can subscribe to online.

"We compared 92 TCSs with chronic CRF (cases) to 191 TCS without (controls) at median age 45 years (range 23-73), and median 11 years post-treatment (range 5-20). Chronic CRF was defined using the Fatigue Questionnaire, while plasma concentrations of cytokines and serum CRP were determined by various immunoassays. Higher levels of interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) (p=.002) and C-Reactive protein (CRP) (p=.036) were found in cases compared to controls. No differences were observed for interleukin-6 (IL-6), soluble Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor type 1 (sTNF-R1) or neopterin. Both IL-1ra and CRP were correlated with physical but not with mental fatigue. In logistic regression analyses IL-1ra and CRP explained 3.5% and 2.8%, respectively, of the variance in chronic CRF. Single adjustments for depression, anxiety and neuroticism each raised the models' explained variance to approximately 35%. Those factors did not significantly alter the relationship between chronic CRF and IL-1ra/CRP. BMI and smoking emerged as possible confounding factors. These results indicate that chronic CRF in TCSs is associated with higher levels of circulating IL-1ra and CRP, possibly mediated by physiological morbidity," wrote I.J. Orre and colleagues, University of Bergen.

The researchers concluded: "Hence, the findings lend some support to the hypothesis that low-grade inflammatory processes are involved in the pathogenesis of chronic CRF in cancer survivors."

Orre and colleagues published their study in Brain, Behavior, and Immunity (Levels of circulating interleukin-1 receptor antagonist and C-reactive protein in long-term survivors of testicular cancer with chronic cancer-related fatigue. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 2009;23(6):868-74).

Additional information can be obtained by contacting I.J. Orre, University of Bergen, Dept. of Biological and Medical Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Jonas Lies vei 91, Bergen, Norway.

The publisher of the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity can be contacted at: Oxford University Press, Great Clarendon St., Oxford OX2 6DP, England.

Keywords: Norway, Bergen, Behavior, Biotechnology, C Reactive Protein, Cytokines, Depression, Fatigue, Immunoassay, Mental Health, Necrosis, Oncology, Proteomics, Testicular Cancer, Testicular Diseases.

This article was prepared by Clinical Oncology Week editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2009, Clinical Oncology Week via NewsRx.com.