Cytokines in peritoneal fluid of ovarian neoplasms
The aim of this study was to evaluate cytokine levels (IL-2, IL-8, TNF-α, IL-5, IL-6 and IL-10) in the peritoneal fluid in non-neoplastic tumours, benign ovarian neoplasms and malignant ovarian neoplasms. Peritoneal fluid or ascites was collected from 117 patients with neoplastic and non-neoplastic ovarian tumours. Cytokine levels were assessed by ELISA. The unpaired groups were compared by the Kruskal-Wallis test with Dunn's post-test. Higher IL-6 levels were found in malignant neoplasms when compared to non-neoplastic tumours (