Peritoneal fluid cytokines and the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant ovarian tumors and residual/recurrent disease examination.

This study aimed to assess the potential value of peritoneal fluid cytokine examination for the differential diagnosis of ovarian tumors and for evaluating residual or recurrent disease after treatment. The cytokines that are commonly elevated in ovarian cancer, VEGF, IL-6, bFGF, IL-8 and M-CSF, and a reference ovarian tumor marker, CA 125, were measured in peritoneal fluids of 53 previously untreated patients with epithelial ovarian cancer, 18 ovarian cancer patients after surgical treatment and chemotherapy, and 17 patients with benign epithelial ovarian tumors. Non-parametric statistical analysis of data was performed. Ovarian cancer peritoneal fluids, as compared to peritoneal fluids of patients with benign ovarian tumors, contained significantly higher concentrations of IL-6, VEGF and CA 125, and significantly lower concentrations of bFGF and M-CSF, but only the levels of IL-6 and VEGF were significantly higher in peritoneal fluids of stage I and II ovarian cancer patients than of patients with benign ovarian conditions. IL-6 at the cutoff level of 400 pg/mL discriminated benign and malignant ovarian tumors with 92% sensitivity and 60% specificity, while VEGF at the cutoff of 400 pg/mL had 90% sensitivity and 80% specificity. At the cutoff level of 1200 pg/mL, IL-6 had 84% sensitivity and 87% specificity. A radical decrease in local cytokine and CA 125 levels in patients after treatment was independent of therapy outcome. IL-6 and VEGF measurements in peritoneal fluids might be useful for the differential diagnosis of malignant and benign ovarian conditions, but not for residual or recurrent disease examination.

Clinical significance of serum cytokine measurements in untreated colorectal cancer patients: soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor type I--an independent prognostic factor.

The aim of this study was to exploit the potential clinical use of circulating cytokine measurements in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. The levels of cytokines and cytokine receptors were assessed by ELISA in the sera of 50 healthy volunteers and 157 patients with previously untreated CRC and then related to clinicopathological features and prognosis. All tumors were verified histologically as colorectal adenocarcinomas and staged according to TNM classification. The levels of circulating interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) and interleukin 1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) significantly increased with the clinical stage of CRC, and the levels of IL-6, soluble tumor necrosis factor (sTNF) receptor type I (RI), soluble interleukin 2 receptor alpha and TNFalpha with tumor grade, while IL-6, IL-8, M-CSF, IL-1ra and sTNF RI levels significantly rose with bowel wall invasion. None of the cytokine or soluble cytokine receptor levels were influenced by age, gender and colon versus rectum localization. sTNF RI, IL-8, IL-6 and vascular endothelial growth factor measurements demonstrated the highest diagnostic sensitivity. sTNF RI was found elevated in the greatest percentage of all CRC patients, in the greatest proportion of stage I patients and presented the best diagnostic sensitivity. In addition, the sTNF RI level strongly correlated with tumor grade and invasion and proved to be an independent prognostic factor.