Serum tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1β, interleukin-6, and interleukin-17 relate to anxiety and depression risks to some extent in non-small cell lung cancer survivor

Introduction: Inflammatory cytokines are proposed as modulators for the pathogenesis of anxiety and depression (anxiety/depression), and anxiety/depression are frequently existed in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) survivors. However, no published study has explored the association of inflammation cytokines with anxiety/depression in NSCLC survivors. Objectives: We aimed to evaluate serum tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-17 (IL-17) levels, and their correlations with anxiety/depression in NSCLC survivors. Methods: Totally, 217 NSCLC survivors and 200 controls were recruited. Then, inflammatory cytokines in serum samples were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Besides, their anxiety/depression status was assessed by Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Results: HADS-anxiety score, anxiety rate, anxiety severity, HADS-depression score, depression rate, and depression severity were all increased in NSCLC survivors compared with controls (all P < 0.001). Regarding inflammatory cytokines, TNF-alpha, IL-1 beta, and IL-17 levels were higher (all P < 0.01), while IL-6 (P = 0.105) level was of no difference in NSCLC survivors compared with controls. Furthermore, TNF-alpha, IL-1 beta, IL-6, and IL-17 were all positively associated with HADS-A score (all P < 0.05), anxiety occurrence (all P < 0.05), HADS-D score (all P < 0.05), and depression occurrence (all P < 0.05) in NSCLC survivors, while the correlation-coefficients were weak. Additionally, multivariate logistic regression analyses disclosed that TNF-alpha (both P < 0.05) and IL-1 beta (both P < 0.001) were independently correlated with increased anxiety and depression risks in NSCLC survivors. Conclusion: Serum TNF-alpha, IL-1 beta, IL-6, and IL-17 are related to increased anxiety and depression risks to some extent in NSCLC survivors.