Dynamics of saliva cytokine levels during intraoperative photodynamic therapy in patients with locally advanced oral cancer

Purpose of the study. Assessment of the level of certain cytokines in the saliva of patients with primary locally advanced cancer of the oral mucosa in addition to surgical treatment with intraoperative PDT (IPDT).

Patients and methods. Patients with primary locally advanced cancer of the oral mucosa T3-4aN0-2M0 were divided into 2 groups: the main group (30 patients) underwent radical tumor removal supplemented with IPDT and the control group (30 patients) without addition. IPDT was performed using Latus-T (farah) and a chlorin E6 photosensitizer. Cytokine levels were determined in unstimulated whole saliva the day before, on the 3rd and on the 7th day after the operation by the ELISA multiplex analysis method.

Results. A similar dynamic of the cytokine profile of patients of both groups was shown: on the 3rd day after surgery, the levels of G-CSF, IL-6, MIP-1β increased, and GM-CSF and IFN-γ decreased compared with baseline values. On the 7th day, the dynamics of G-CSF, GM-CSF, IL-6 persisted, while IL-8, IL-10, IL-12 changed to the opposite.

Intergroup differences were revealed in the level of IL-1β - on day 3, an increase in the main group and a decrease in the control group. The level of IL-7 on day 7 decreased sharply in the control group and increased statistically significantly in patients receiving IPDT. The main group showed a 4.8-fold increase in IL-8 on day 3 and its 3.6-fold drop on day 7 with the opposite dynamics in the control group. The TNF-α level increased only in the main group on day 7, and in the control group it decreased by 3 and recovered on day 7. On day 3, the MCP-1 level increased in the main group and decreased in the control group. The level of IL-17 in the main group increased on the 3rd day with a further decrease below the baseline, and in the control group it decreased on the 3rd day, followed by a recovery on the 7th. An increase in IL-5 and IL-13 levels on day 3 was noted only in the control group, however, the level of IL-5 in both study periods in the main group was lower than in the control group.

Conclusion. IPDT in patients with primary locally advanced oral cancer causes changes in the cytokine composition of saliva during the first week after surgery, some of which can be associated with an elongation of the relapse-free period in such patients.

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