Background and Objectives: Cervical lymph node enlargement is a manifestation of various diseases, including malignant lymphoma. Open biopsy of the enlarged lymph node is frequently required for disease diagnosis, especially when malignant lymphoma is suspected. Serum levels of soluble interleukin 2 receptor (sIL-2R) may also be considered as a biomarker for malignant lymphoma. This study was aimed at determining whether measurement of serum sIL-2R levels might be useful in the diagnosis of malignant lymphoma.
Material and Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of the data of 281 patients who had undergone open cervical lymph node biopsy at our institution between 2015 and 2019. The patients included 157 men and 124 women, ranging in age from 5–90 years. Data on the age, diagnosis, and serum sIL-2R levels of the patients were obtained from their medical records.
Results: Overall, there were 184 cases of malignant lymphoma (MLs) and 97 cases of other diseases (NMLs). The mean age was significantly higher and mean serum level of sIL-2R were significantly higher in the ML group as compared with the NML group. Among the patients with ML, the serum sIL-2R levels were significantly higher in patients with T-cell lymphoma than in patients with B-cell lymphoma. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of the serum level of sIL-2R for predicting ML was 0.711, and a serum sIL-2R level of 1246 U/ml was associated with the maximum value of the sensitivity + specificity for the diagnosis of ML. Multivariate analysis revealed that the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve increased to 0.758 for patients aged over 61 years old and patients with serum sIL-2R levels of more than 1246 U/ml.
Conclusions: Among patients presenting with cervical lymphadenopathy, measurement of the serum sIL-2R level could be useful for distinguishing between patients with and without ML, with a cutoff level for the diagnosis of ML of 1246 U/ml.
