• L Kwofie, B L Rapoport, H Fickl, P W A Meyer, P Rheeder, H Hlope, R Anderson, and G R Tintinger.
• Medical Research Council Unit for Inflammation and Immunity, Department of Immunology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria and Tshwane Academic Division of National Health Laboratory Service, Pretoria, South Africa.
• Ann. Hematol. 2012 Apr 1;91(4):605-11.

AbstractThe soluble triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 1 (sTREM-1) is a useful marker of infection in patients with sepsis, but has not been adequately evaluated in patients with chemotherapy-associated febrile neutropenia (FN). The value of sTREM-1 in this setting has been tested in a retrospective, pilot study using stored serum from 48 cancer patients with documented FN. On presentation, patients were categorized according to the Talcott risk-index clinical score. Circulating soluble sTREM-1 was measured using an ELISA procedure, while procalcitonin (PCT) or interleukins 6 (IL-6) and 8 (IL-8), included for comparison, were measured using an immunoluminescence-based assay and Bio-Plex® suspension bead array system, respectively. Circulating concentrations of both sTREM-1 and PCT were significantly (P < 0.05) elevated in patients at high risk for complications or death, as predicted by the Talcott score and were significantly lower in patients who responded to empiric antimicrobial agents. Neither IL-6 nor IL-8 accurately predicted serious complications in patients with FN. These observations, albeit from a pilot study, demonstrate that sTREM-1 is indeed elevated in high-risk patients with FN and is potentially useful to predict their clinical course, either together with, or as an alternative to PCT.

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