Serum CCL11 Levels in Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia and Prostate Cancer

Abstract

Purpose: CC-chemokine ligand 11 (CCL11; eotaxin-1), an eosinophil chemoattractant chemokine, has been proposed as a serum marker for prostate cancer (PCa) by two research groups. We investigated the usefulness of CCL11 in diagnosing prostatic diseases, such as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and PCa. Materials and Methods: CCL11 was measured in the sera of 139 men with BPH, 44 men with PCa, and 45 control men attending an outpatient health-screening clinic. A commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit was used to measure CCL11. Results: CCL11 concentrations were significantly higher in men with BPH and PCa than in normal men (72.9±3.15 and 80.0±4.91 pg/ml vs. 57.6±8.24). In addition, a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis of serum CCL11 levels showed that the areas under the ROC curves were 0.661 (p=0.001) and 0.654 (p=0.012) for BPH and PCa, respectively, compared with normal men. Conclusions: CCL11 may be helpful in diagnosing prostatic diseases, such as BPH and PCa.