Expression of interleukin-6 is associated with epithelial-mesenchymal transition and survival rates in gallbladder cancer

The present study aimed to investigate the expression of interleukin‑6 (IL‑6) in gallbladder cancer (GBC) tissues and its correlation with survival rate. The association between IL‑6 and epithelial‑mesenchymal transition (EMT)‑associated markers was also examined. Using immunohistochemistry, reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT‑qPCR) and western blot analysis, the protein and mRNA expression levels of IL‑6, Twist, E‑cadherin and Vimentin in 20 GBC tissues were analyzed. The IL‑6, Twist and Vimentin proteins were overexpressed in 40, 20 and 70% of the human GBC samples, respectively. The protein expression of E‑cadherin was higher in only 5% of the GBC samples. These differences were significant (P