Impact of Cigarette Smoking and Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma on Circulating Inflammatory Biomarkers

INTRODUCTION: Smoking induces inflammation and an immune response. A cancer-related inflammatory response has been seen in smoking and nonsmoking head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to analyze the possible separated effects of smoking or HNSCC on 18 inflammatory or immune regulatory biomarkers. METHODS: Fifty-one nonsmoking and 36 smoking pretreated HNSCC patients and 101 nonsmoking and 39 smoking controls were included in this study. The levels of 18 inflammatory or immune regulatory biomarkers were analyzed. A multivariable linear regression model was used to predict the impact of smoking and HNSCC on the levels of the biomarkers. RESULTS: Smoking had the highest impact on total WBC, IFN-γ, and MCP-1 levels. The highest impact of HNSCC was found on neutrophils, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, HsCRP, MIP-1b, and TNF-α levels. CONCLUSION: Identifying HNSCC or smoking-related inflammatory biomarkers might contribute to the understanding of the immune response in HNSCC patients. This study could provide information of inflammatory biomarkers in HNSCC patients.
Funding agencies: Futurum-Academy of HealthCare at Jonkoping County Council [696261]; Foundation of Clinical Cancer Research in Jonkoping [110426]