Exploring the role of interleukin 11 in cancer progression, patient survival, and therapeutic insights

Abstract

BackgroundThe Interleukin (IL)-11 gene, which is one of the members of the cytokine family, has an oncogenic role in some cancers. The main goal of this study is to analyze IL-11 expression level in 14 prevalent cancers and highlights its role in patients' survival, drug resistance, and sensitivities. Also, an association of this gene with metastasis and inflammation pathways has been investigated.Methods and resultsUsing the cancer genome atlas (TCGA) data, the level of IL-11 expression and its role in prognosis and survival rate were evaluated in 13 common cancers. Then, confirming the obtained in-silico outcomes, the relative expression level of this gene in colorectal cancer (CRC) samples and their adjusted tissues were assayed by the RT-qPCR method. Furthermore, to examine the association between IL-11 expression and drug resistance and sensitivity, PharmacoGX data was applied. The co-expression network was used to recognize the pathways in which IL-11 was involved. The results from the TCGA dataset indicated that the expression level of IL-11 increased significantly in 13 prevalence cancers compared to the control groups. Interestingly, this enhanced expression level is associated with a high rate of mortality in patients with bladder, stomach, colorectal, and endometrial cancers. Also, the co-expression network analysis showed a strong correlation between IL-11 and the genes of metastasis pathway and the genes related to the inflammation process. Finally, regarding drug sensitivity, IL-11 expression level can be introduced as a remarkable biomarker for cancer detection due to area under curve (AUC).ConclusionAltered expression of the IL-11 gene is observed in 13 common cancers and is associated with prognosis and mortality rate in patients. Moreover, this gene can be considered a prognostic biomarker in different types of cancer, such as CRC.