ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the clinicopathologic and prognostic significance of serum levels of six cytokines (IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-10, IL-5, IL-4, IL-2) in patients with advanced serous ovarian cancer prior to surgery.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The serum levels of six cytokines were detected in 51 patients with advanced serous ovarian cancer and 46 healthy controls, using cytometric bead arrays.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The serum levels of IFN-γ (20.68±11.45), IL-2 (4.54±1.18), IL-4 (5.66±2.25), IL-5 (2.72±0.86) µg/L and IL-10 (5.93±7.92) µg/L were higher (P<0.01, P<0.05) and the serum level of TNF-α (7.53±8.47) was lower (P<0.01) in patients with advanced serous ovarian cancer than those in the healthy controls. The IFN-γ/IL-4 ratio (3.93±2.34) of the patients was lower than that of the controls (P<0.01). Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that patient's age (P=0.016), menopausal status (P=0.001) and serum IL-10 level (P=0.010) correlated significantly with patient's survival. Cox regression analysis showed that serum IL-2 (P=0.045) and IL-10 levels (P=0.007) were the independent prognostic factors.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Patients with advanced serous ovarian cancer have Th1/Th2 imbalance and immune function disturbance. The age of patients and menopausal status are important prognostic factors. IL-2 and IL-10 level are also independent predictors of survival.</p>