Complete resection for pleomorphic lung cancer with a high serum IL-6 level: a case report

Soichi Oka, Hiroki Matsumiya, Shuichi Shinohara, Taiji Kuwata, Masaru Takenaka, Yasuhiro Chikaishi, Ayako Hirai, Naoko Imanishi, Koji Kuroda, Hidetaka Uramoto, Fumihiro Tanaka

Pleomorphic lung cancer cells have been reported to produce cytokines, resulting in systemic reactions. Recently, the autonomous production of hematopoietic cytokines (granulocyte colony-stimulating factor [G-CSF], granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor [GM-CSF], and interleukin-6 [IL-6]) was observed in some of these patients. We herein report a case of complete resection of right pleomorphic lung cancer producing IL-6. The patient had a high-grade fever before surgery, and a blood examination showed high IL-6 and CRP levels in the serum. After surgery, the patient no longer had a fever, and the elevated serum IL-6 levels had dropped to values less than those before the operation. Immunohistochemically, the carcinoma cells were faintly or focally positive for IL-6 and negative for G-CSF. The symptoms in the present case were dramatically improved by surgery. In addition, an immunohistochemical examination showed that the cancer cells were positive for IL-6.