Serum Chemokine Ligand 5 (CCL5/RANTES) Level Might Be Utilized As A Predictive Marker Of Tumor Behavior AndDisease Prognosis In Patients With Gastric Adenocarcinoma

Gastric cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide and the mostcommon gastrointestinal cancer in Iran. Chemokine ligand 5 (CCL5/RANTES) is one of the mostpotent angiogenic factors that plays an important role in tumor growth, invasion, and metastasis.We aimed to assess the serum level of CCL5 in patients with gastric adenocarcinoma and its relationwith histological grade and tumor stage, as well as the disease prognosis. Seventy-four patientswith gastric adenocarcinoma that had undergone gastrectomy and 96 non-tumoral cases in whichgastric cancer was ruled out by gastroscopy and biopsy were enrolled. Demographic andepidemiological characteristics and patient survival data were reviewed. Histological type, grade,and tumor stage (TNM) were determined by a single expert pathologist. Helicobacter pyloriinfection status and CCL5 serum level were measured by ELISA. Data were analyzed using SPSSsoftware version 16. Patients with gastric adenocarcinoma had significantly higher serum CCL5level compared with control group (P < .001). Higher serum CCL5 levels were associated with lowerhistological differentiation (P < .001), higher depth of tumor invasion (P = .022), more frequentlymph nodes involvement (P = .028), and advanced tumor stage (P = .002). The overall survival ofpatients with CCL5 levels higher than 70.671 pg/ml was significantly lower than those with lowerthan this cutoff (P = .043). Serum CCL5 levels might be utilized as a predictive marker of tumorbehavior and disease prognosis in patients with gastric adenocarcinoma. Further studies to assesstissue expression of CCL5 and its gene polymorphisms are suggested.