Interleukin-6 concentration changes in plasma and saliva in bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaws.
Bagan J., Sáez GT., Tormos MC., Hens E., Terol MJ., Bagan L., Diaz-Fernández JM., Lluch A., Camps C.
AimTo determine the plasma and saliva levels of IL-6 in patients with bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaws (BRONJ) and to investigate whether there is a correlation between more advanced stages of BRONJ and levels of IL-6.Material and methodsWe studied three groups: group 1 consisted of 30 patients with BRONJ due to intravenous bisphosphonates (ivBP), group 2 consisted of 25 patients treated with ivBP but without BRONJ, and group 3 consisted of 15 healthy controls. In each case, we assayed plasma and saliva IL-6 samples using an ELISA test.ResultsSignificantly, higher IL-6 values were found in both saliva and plasma in group 1 vs groups 2 and 3 (P 0.05), type of tumor, BRONJ location, etiology of BRONJ, or disease stage (P > 0.05). We found higher plasma and saliva IL-6 values in the more advances stages of BRONJ, although the differences were not statistically significant.ConclusionsPlasma and saliva IL-6 values were higher in our patients with BRONJ than in controls and therefore might be a useful tool for monitoring the severity of BRONJ.