To explore the role of T-helper 17 cells and their cascade in the pathogenesis of laryngeal cancer.

Prospectively, 110 consecutive patients with a suspicious laryngeal lesion were evaluated for serum levels of T-helper 17 cell related interleukins, including interleukins 23, 17A and 22, determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The patients were divided into 2 groups after pathological evaluation: 49 patients with malignancy and 61 with benign pathology. Associations between interleukin levels and malignancy were determined via correlation analyses.

Interleukin 17A and 22 levels were significantly higher in the malignancy group than the benign lesion group. Pearson correlation analysis showed that interleukins 17A and 22 acted in a cascade, but interleukin 23 did not. According to predictive values, interleukin 17A levels were 3.87 times and interleukin 22 levels were 1.09 times more likely to be associated with laryngeal cancer. The cut-off values for predicting laryngeal cancer were 3.55 pg/ml for interleukin 17A and 119.82 pg/ml for interleukin 22.

T-helper 17 cell related interleukins are potential biomarkers that may be helpful in diagnosing laryngeal cancer. Moreover, these data may support neutralisation of T-helper 17 cell related cytokine activity, which could be an attractive strategy for treating laryngeal cancer.