Abstract: Objective To analyze the correlation of serum interferon-γ(IFN-γ), interleukin-2 (IL-2) and epidermal growth factor (EGF) for prediction of radiotherapy sensitivity and prognosis in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Methods Eighty six patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma in the hospital were collected from 2010 to 2013. Simultaneously, sixty four healthy persons were selected as the control group basec on physical examination. Analysis of the relationship between serum IFN-γ, IL-2, and EGF and clinical pathological features,in both groups were compared. Results No significant difference of serum IFN-γ, IL-2 and EGF concentration in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma was noted in gender, ages, pathological types, differentiation types and clinical stages (P>0.05). The levels of IFN-γ and IL-2, however, in nasopharyngeal carcinoma group were lower but EGF was higher than those in the control group (P<0.05). High levels of serum IFN-γ and IL-2 and low levels of EGF in the radiotherapy sensitive group of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma were seen compared with those in the radiotherapy resistant group, (P<0.05). The Cox proportional hazard model showed that serum EGF level and radiosensitivity were risk factors for prognosis, and IFN-γ and IL-2 were protective factors. IFN-γ, IL - 2 and EGF areas under the curve were 0.719, 0.773 and 0.884, respectively. The joint detection area under the curve was 0.937, which was significantly higher than that of individual indicators. Conclusion The serum levels of IFN-γ, IL-2, EGF are associated with the development of nasopharyngeal carcinoma, indicating the potential significance of the cytokine detection in guidance of clinical treatments and prognosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Key words: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma Interferon-γ, Interleukin-2, Epidermal growth factor, Radiation sensitivity, Prognosis