IL-6 and IL-8 as Prognostic Factors in Peritoneal Fluid of Ovarian Cancer.

The objectives of the study were to analyze the dosage of a cytokine panel (IL2, IL5, IL6, IL8, IL10, and TNF-α) in the peritoneal fluid and relate the dosage of these cytokines to prognostic para- meters and survival in ovarian cancer. Peritoneal fluid was collected intraopera- tively from 29 patients with primary malignant ovarian neoplasia. Cytokine panel dosing was performed with ELISA. Comparisons of cytokines with prognostic factors were performed using the Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test. ROC curves were used to determine the cutoff value of NLR, PLR, and IL6. Univariate and multivariate analysis of disease-free survival (DFS) or overall survival (OS) were performed (Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression). The differences were considered significant when the value of p < .05. Higher levels of IL-6 were related to a neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) >3.18 (p = .04), a platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) >219.23 (p = .0051), CA-125 levels >35 U/mL (p = .0019), stage IIIC (p = .0203), and DFS ≤ 24 months (p = .0267). For IL-8, higher levels were related to PLR > 219.23 (p = .0426), and CA-125 >35 U/mL (p = .0292). In the univariate analysis, IL-6 levels ≥87.23 in peritoneal fluid had a relationship with shorter DFS at significance threshold (p = .05), and with a shorter OS (p = .039). Multivariate survival analysis proved that IL-6 level in the peritoneal fluid was an independent predictor of OS. Therefore, IL-6 and IL-8 in peritoneal lavage were related to poor prognostic factors. These cytokines may represent new biomarkers for ovarian cancer therapies.