Pro-inflammatory cytokines and depression in a familial cancer registry

Patients undergoing cancer treatment (e.g., interferon or IL-2 treatment) develop depression, and there is a positive relationship between their depression and circulating levels of proinflammatory cytokines. Depressed patients who are medically healthy also show increases in circulating markers of inflammation. The present study characterized baseline levels of inflammatory cytokine activity in 18 pairs of depressed and non-depressed persons at high risk for cancer and matched for age, ethnicity and all unaffected by a personal history of cancer. Circulating levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), soluble IL-6 receptor (sIL-6R), tumor necrosis factor-α-receptor (TNF-RII), and soluble intercellular adhesion molecule (sICAM) did not differ between those with and without depression. The present data are important for characterizing persons at high risk for cancer who may later acquire knowledge of further increased risk through genetic testing.