ELEVATED SERUM LEVELS OF INTERLEUKIN-10 IN PATIENTS WITH METASTATIC MALIGNANT-MELANOMA

Interleukn-10 (IL-10), originally described as a product of TH2 cell c lones, has been recognized as a potential immunosuppressive cytokine. To investigate the relevance of IL-10 in melanoma patients in vivo, we studied IL-10 serum levels in 104 untreated patients in different sta ges of the disease; 20 healthy subjects and 22 patients with inflammat ory dermatoses served as controls. Serum levels were measured by ELISA . Only one of 31 patients with stage I melanoma (3%) and one of 16 sta ge II patients (6%) showed detectable IL-10 levels. Interestingly, six of 17 patients with lymph node metastases (stage III, 35%) and 29 of 40 patients with wide-spread disease (stage IV, 73%) revealed IL-10 le vels of 15-480 pg/ml. No healthy person and only one control patient h ad a detectable IL-10 serum level. The data suggest that IL-10 in mela noma patients may contribute to down-modulation of anti-tumour respons es in vivo.