ISSN (Online): 1694-4674
Annals of Medicine and Medical Sciences AMMS
Submit Manuscript
  1. Home
  2. Volume 05 (2026), Version 01
  3. Inflammatory Markers in Breast Cancer: A Tertiary Centre Experience
Original Article Open Access

Inflammatory Markers in Breast Cancer: A Tertiary Centre Experience

, , , ,
* Correspondence: [email protected]
Annals of Medicine and Medical Sciences Volume 05 (2026), Version 01 January 15, 2025 pp. 64 - 68
30 8
Download PDF
PDF XML
Abstract

Introduction: Chronic inflammation has shown to have a recognized part in carcinogenesis, influencing tumor initiation, development, and prognosis. In breast carcinoma, systemic inflammatory markers such as C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and interleukin-8 (IL-8) have been investigated as potential indicators of disease behaviour. This study was intended to evaluate the relationship between these inflammatory markers and key clinicopathological parameters in breast carcinoma patients. Methods: This study was undertaken at the Pathology department, Government Medical College, Jammu, between August 2023 and July 2024. Serum CRP and IL-6 levels were measured using spectrophotometry and chemiluminescence assays, respectively, while enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to quantify TNF-alpha and interleukin-8. This study aimed to assess the levels of CRP, IL-8, IL-6, and TNF-α in patients with breast carcinoma and to examine their associations with key histopathological parameters. Results: 56 cases of breast carcinoma were included. The mean age of the patients was 51.15 ± 8.23 years. Elevated levels of CRP, IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α were observed in 58.2%, 89.1%, 61.8%, and 89.1% of cases, respectively. CRP showed significant associations with lymph node status (p = 0.005), tumor stage (p = 0.002), tumor grade (p = 0.001), lymphovascular invasion (p = 0.001), ER/PR status (p < 0.001), and HER2neu expression (p = 0.003). No significant associations were observed between IL-6, IL-8, or TNF-α and most clinicopathological variables. Conclusion: Elevated CRP levels demonstrated strong correlations with adverse pathological features in breast carcinoma, proposing its potential as a cost-effective prognostic marker in routine clinical practice. Further prospective studies on a large scale are necessary to corroborate these findings and explore therapeutic interventions targeting inflammatory pathways.

References
  1. Bray F, Ferlay J, Soerjomataram I, Siegel RL, Torre LA, Jemal A. Global cancer statistics 2020: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. CA Cancer J Clin. 2021;71(3):209-249. doi:10.3322/caac.21660.
  2. Youlden DR, Cramb SM, Yip CH, Baade PD. Incidence and mortality of female breast cancer in the Asia-Pacific region. Cancer Biol Med. 2014;11(2):101-115. doi:10.7497/j.issn.2095-3941.2014.02.005.
  3. Grivennikov SI, Greten FR, Karin M. Immunity, inflammation, and cancer. Cell. 2010;140(6):883-899. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2010.01.025.
  4. Greten FR, Grivennikov SI. Inflammation and cancer: triggers, mechanisms, and consequences. Immunity. 2019;51(1):27-41. doi:10.1016/j.immuni.2019.06.025.
  5. Guthrie GJ, Charles KA, Roxburgh CS, Horgan PG, McMillan DC, Clarke SJ. The systemic inflammation-based neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio: experience in patients with cancer. Crit Rev Oncol Hematol. 2013;88(1):218-230. doi:10.1016/j.critrevonc.2013.03.010.
  6. Proctor MJ, Morrison DS, Talwar D, Balmer SM, Fletcher CD, O’Reilly DS, et al. An inflammation-based prognostic score (mGPS) in patients with cancer: a Glasgow Inflammation Outcome Study. Br J Cancer. 2011;104(4):726-734. doi:10.1038/bjc.2011.22.
  7. Guo L, Liu S, Zhang S, Chen Q, Zhang M. C-reactive protein and risk of breast cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sci Rep. 2015;5:10508. doi:10.1038/srep10508.
  8. Li M, Guo Y, Chen Y, Zhang L, Wang T, Shen M, et al. Elevated C-reactive protein and prognosis in patients with breast cancer: a meta-analysis. Oncotarget. 2017;8(37):62538-62549. doi:10.18632/oncotarget.18894.
  9. Ni X, Xu W, Jiang J, He X, Ma L, Li Y, et al. Prognostic significance of C-reactive protein in breast cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Invest Med. 2019;67(4):651-658. doi:10.1136/jim-2018-000872.
  10. Johnson DE, O'Keefe RA, Grandis JR. Targeting the IL-6/JAK/STAT3 signalling axis in cancer. Nat Rev Clin Oncol. 2018;15(4):234-248. doi:10.1038/nrclinonc.2018.8.
  11. Kumari N, Dwarakanath BS, Das A, Bhatt AN. Role of interleukin-6 in cancer progression and therapeutic resistance. Tumour Biol. 2016;37(9):11553-11572. doi:10.1007/s13277-016-5098-7.
  12. Waugh DJ, Wilson C. The interleukin-8 pathway in cancer. Clin Cancer Res. 2008;14(21):6735-6741. doi:10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-07-4843.
  13. Balkwill F. Tumour necrosis factor and cancer. Nat Rev Cancer. 2009;9(5):361-371. doi:10.1038/nrc2628.
  14. Allin KH, Nordestgaard BG. Elevated C-reactive protein in the diagnosis, prognosis, and cause of cancer. Crit Rev Clin Lab Sci. 2011;48(4):155-170. doi:10.3109/10408363.2011.599831.
  15. Heikkilä K, Ebrahim S, Lawlor DA. Systematic review of the association between circulating C reactive protein and cancer. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2007;61(9):824-833. doi:10.1136/jech.2006.051292.
  16. MacDonald L, Baldassarre FG, Cheung S, Fyles A, Yaffe M, Verma S, et al. C-reactive protein and breast cancer recurrence: a systematic review. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2013;141(3):433-440. doi:10.1007/s10549-013-2713-9.
  17. Sproston NR, Ashworth JJ. Role of C-reactive protein at sites of inflammation and infection. Front Immunol. 2018;9:754. doi:10.3389/fimmu.2018.00754.
  18. Hanahan D, Weinberg RA. Hallmarks of cancer: the next generation. Cell. 2011;144(5):646-674. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2011.02.013.
  19. Pierce BL, Ballard-Barbash R, Bernstein L, Baumgartner RN, Neuhouser ML, Wener MH, et al. Elevated biomarkers of inflammation are associated with reduced survival among breast cancer patients. J Clin Oncol. 2009;27(21):3437-3444. doi:10.1200/JCO.2008.18.9068.
  20. Mantovani A, Allavena P. The interaction of anticancer therapies with tumor-associated macrophages. J Exp Med. 2015;212(4):435-445. doi:10.1084/jem.20150295.
  21. Sethi G, Sung B, Aggarwal BB. TNF: a master switch for inflammation to cancer. Front Biosci. 2008;13:5094-5107. doi:10.2741/3066.
  22. Sansone P, Bromberg J. Targeting the interleukin-6/JAK/stat pathway in human malignancies. J Clin Oncol. 2012;30(9):1005-1014. doi:10.1200/JCO.2010.31.8907.
  23. Dethlefsen C, Højfeldt G, Hojman P. The role of intratumoral and systemic IL-6 in breast cancer. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2013;138(3):657-664. doi:10.1007/s10549-013-2488-z.
  24. Sullivan NJ, Sasser AK, Axel AE, Vesuna F, Raman V, Ramirez N, et al. Interleukin-8 regulates tumorigenicity and stemness in human breast cancer cells. Cancer Res. 2009;69(9):3479-3486. doi:10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-08-3190.
  25. Singh JK, Simoes BM, Howell SJ, Farnie G, Clarke RB. Recent advances reveal IL-8 signaling as a key therapeutic target in breast cancer. Breast Cancer Res. 2013;15(4):210. doi:10.1186/bcr3436.
Author Resources