Scientific Letters
Vol. 14 No. 1 (2022): Review Articles, Original Article, Scientific Letter, Case Reports Letter to the Editor
https://doi.org/10.4084/mjhid.2022.007

VEGF and IL-6 correlation in POEMS: a potential upcoming marker of active disease and early autologous BMT response.

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Received: September 16, 2021
Accepted: November 17, 2021
Published: January 1, 2022
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POEMS, IL-6, VEGF

Authors

Luca Laurenti
luca.laurenti@unicatt.it
pol. a gemelli, Italy.
Idanna Innocenti
2Dipartimento di Diagnostica per Immagini, Radioterapia Oncologica ed Ematologia, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy, Italy.
Giulia Benintende
1Sezione di Ematologia, Dipartimento di Scienze Radiologiche ed Ematologiche, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy, Italy.
Annamaria Tomasso
1Sezione di Ematologia, Dipartimento di Scienze Radiologiche ed Ematologiche, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy, Italy.
Francesco Autore
2Dipartimento di Diagnostica per Immagini, Radioterapia Oncologica ed Ematologia, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy, Italy.
Alberto Fresa
1Sezione di Ematologia, Dipartimento di Scienze Radiologiche ed Ematologiche, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy, Italy.
Florenzia Vuono
1Sezione di Ematologia, Dipartimento di Scienze Radiologiche ed Ematologiche, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy, Italy.
Silvia Baroni
3Dipartimento di Chimica Clinica, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Roma, Italy, Italy.
Claudia Giannotta
4Department of Medical Biotechnology and Translational Medicine, Milan University, Neuromuscular and Neuroimmunology Service, Humanitas Clinical and Research Center, Rozzano, Italy. , Italy.
Patrizia Chiusolo
1Sezione di Ematologia, Dipartimento di Scienze Radiologiche ed Ematologiche, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy; 2Dipartimento di Diagnostica per Immagini, Radioterapia Oncologica ed Ematologia, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy, Italy.
Federica Sorà
1Sezione di Ematologia, Dipartimento di Scienze Radiologiche ed Ematologiche, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy; 2Dipartimento di Diagnostica per Immagini, Radioterapia Oncologica ed Ematologia, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy, Italy.
Simona Sica
1Sezione di Ematologia, Dipartimento di Scienze Radiologiche ed Ematologiche, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy; 2Dipartimento di Diagnostica per Immagini, Radioterapia Oncologica ed Ematologia, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy, Italy.

Introduction: VEGF function may be responsible for most POEMS manifestations, and it is considered a reliable marker of disease. COVID-19 era arose increasing interest for other inflammatory cytokines, with particular focus on Interleukin-6; VEGF production is stimulated by IL-6 and IL1β, whose concentrations appear to be elevated in clonal plasma cells.

Objectives: This study aims to simultaneously evaluate VEGF and IL-6 values in patients (pts) with POEMS at different stages of the disease to find a correlation between them.

Methods: We performed a monocentric study, measuring serum levels of VEGF and IL-6 in 8 POEMS pts at different time points of the disease.

Results: We observed elevated serum levels of both VEGF and IL-6 in three pts before transplant, while the day after the infusion of autologous stem cells, we observed a steep decrease of both serum markers. Among the four-pts tested only after transplant, two presented with a consensual level of VEGF and IL-6, while the others did not correlate. One patient observed at POEMS diagnosis, during active disease, presented with strikingly high levels of both serum markers.

Conclusions: So far, to the best of our knowledge, IL-6 could be considered as a marker of active disease and reliable up to the very first months after BMT, after which its accuracy appears to be lost due to unknown factors, still to be investigated.

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How to Cite



“VEGF and IL-6 correlation in POEMS: a potential upcoming marker of active disease and early autologous BMT response”. (2022) Mediterranean Journal of Hematology and Infectious Diseases, 14(1), p. e2022007. doi:10.4084/mjhid.2022.007.
Copyright (c) 2021 Luca Laurenti, Idanna Innocenti, Giulia Benintende, Annamaria Tomasso, Francesco Autore, Alberto Fresa, Florenzia Vuono, Silvia Baroni, Claudia Giannotta, Patrizia Chiusolo, Federica Sorà, Simona Sica Creative Commons License

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