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Cytokines

Association between high interleukin-6 levels and adverse outcome after autologous haemopoietic stem cell transplantation

Bone Marrow Transplantation volume 28, pages 929–933 (2001)Cite this article

Abstract

We studied interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels on the day of transplantation in 31 patients undergoing autologous haemopoietic stem cell transplantation (SCT) (either peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT) or bone marrow transplantation (BMT)) for neoplastic diseases to determine if there was a relationship between IL-6 level and rate of haemopoietic recovery, length of stay in hospital, and survival. There was no apparent delay in post-transplant recovery associated with elevated IL-6 levels. However, increased values of IL-6 tended to be associated with an increased length of stay in hospital (P = 0.083). There was a highly significant adverse association between higher IL-6 levels and survival following transplantation (P = 0.0001). This association remained significant (P = 0.013) in the uniform subgroup of patients with malignant lymphoma with chemosensitive disease who had undergone BMT (that is, excluding patients who had undergone PBSCT) (n = 13). Knowledge of IL-6 levels on the day of transplant has the potential to provide valuable prognostic information in patients undergoing autologous haemopoietic SCT. Bone Marrow Transplantation (2001) 28, 929–933.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Drs Michael Beamish, David Boadle, Ian Byard, Roger Kimber, Kim Rooney and Rosemary Young for allowing us to study their patients. This work was partially supported by grants from the Cancer Council of Tasmania and the David Collins Leukaemia Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Haematology and Medical Oncology, Royal Hobart Hospital, Tasmania, Australia

    EM Tegg, AE Griffiths, RM Lowenthal, DM Tuck, R Harrup, KA Marsden, DML Jupe & S Ragg

  2. Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    JP Matthews

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  1. EM Tegg
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  2. AE Griffiths
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Tegg, E., Griffiths, A., Lowenthal, R. et al. Association between high interleukin-6 levels and adverse outcome after autologous haemopoietic stem cell transplantation. Bone Marrow Transplant 28, 929–933 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bmt.1703272

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