Determination of interferon epsilon (IFN-ε) expression levels and investigation of their relationship with clinicopathological features in colon cancer

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential anti-tumor effect of Interferon Epsilon (IFN-ε) in the pathogenesis of colorectal cancer by comparing IFN-ε levels in tumoral and normal tissues and in pre- and post-operative serum samples from patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer. Materials and Methods: Fifty patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer at Gaziantep University Hospital, who had not received chemotherapy or radiotherapy were included in the study. IFN-ε levels in serum samples collected before surgery and on postoperative day 30 were determined using The Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) method. IFN-ε gene expression in tumoral and normal colon tissues obtained from the same patients was evaluated by Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (Real-Time PCR). The data were analyzed using SPSS version 23.0; T-Tests were used for parametric variables, while Wilcoxon and Mann–Whitney U tests were applied for non-parametric data. Findings: Preoperative peripheral blood IFN-ε levels were significantly higher than postoperative values (p <0.05). Although no statistically significant difference was found between tumoral and normal tissue IFN-ε levels, expression levels were observed to be higher in normal tissues compared to tumoral tissues. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that IFN-ε may play a protective or anti-tumor role in the development of colorectal cancer. These findings support the potential use of Interferon Epsilon as a prognostic biomarker in colorectal cancer; however, studies with larger sample sizes are warranted to confirm these results. Keywords: Interferon Epsilon, Colorectal Cancer, ELISA, Real-Time PCR, Type I Interferon, Anti-tumor Effect