High Concentration of Serum Soluble Fas in Patients with Head and Neck Carcinoma: A Comparative Study Before and After Surgical Removal of Tumor

Alternative splicing of the Fas transcript can produce a naturalsecreted isoform of this molecule. Some cancer cells can also produce soluble Fas (sFas)which may have suppressive effects on the immune system''s anti-tumor response.Elevated concentrations of sFas have been detected in the sera of patients with differentmalignancies. The concentrations of sFas in sera of patients with headand neck carcinoma (HNC, n=98) and healthy individuals (n=30) were measured bySandwich ELISA and compared to values obtained six months after surgical removalof the tumor (n=48). Data were correlated with different clinical findings of thepatients. sFas concentrations in the sera of HNC patients were found to besignificantly higher in patients with different tumor stages. sFas concentration did notcorrelate with age or tumor invasiveness, however a higher concentration of sFas wasfound in the sera of patients who had higher tumor grades. Surgical removal oftumors in patients resulted in a substantial decrease in sFas concentration. The initial rise in sFas concentration in the sera of HNC patients andits consequent decrease could be regarded as a sign of tumor suppressive mechanisms.Additional studies are needed to fully elucidate this mechanism however these findingsmight show the prospective use of such biomarkers to determine disease prognosis andeven immunotherapeutic applications.