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Diagnostic accuracy of interleukin-6 levels in peritoneal fluid for detection of endometriosis

  • General Gynecology
  • Published:
Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

To determine, with extended receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, the diagnostic value of cytokines showing significantly different peritoneal concentrations between women with and without endometriosis.

Methods

Multiplex cytokine concentration measurement of IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, TNF-α and IFN-γ levels in peritoneal fluid of women with minimal to mild (n = 10) and moderate to severe (n = 26) endometriosis, and 42 controls.

Results

Only IL-6 and IL-10 concentrations were significantly higher in endometriosis patients than in controls. Specifically, significantly higher IL-6 and IL-10 levels were found in moderate to severe but not in minimal to mild endometriosis as compared to controls. For evaluation of diagnostic significance, ROC analysis determined discriminating parameters for IL-6, while those calculated for IL-10 were useless. Importantly, ROC analysis for IL-6 levels limited to women with moderate to severe endometriosis showed the highest area under the curve with the sample size sufficient to achieve 90 % power of the test. Finally, extended ROC including cost of analysis for this group of patients determined the optimal cut-off leading to high specificity and positive likelihood ratio resulting in 79 % effectiveness of the test.

Conclusions

While our outcomes show moderate usefulness of peritoneal IL-6 levels in discrimination of moderate to severe endometriosis, further studies might be needed to determine the usefulness of peritoneal IL-6 levels in detection of early stages of endometriosis, as such a finding would be more relevant in clinical decision making.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education grant nos. N40701132/0313 (to A.C.), and 2P05E 02929 (to M.G.).

Conflict of interest

We declare that we have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. First Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wroclaw Medical University, Wrocław, Poland

    Dorota Wickiewicz, Alicja Halbersztadt, Marian S. Gabryś & Marian Goluda

  2. Laboratory of Reproductive Immunology, Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Wrocław, Poland

    Agnieszka Chrobak & Anna Chełmońska-Soyta

  3. Faculty of Biotechnology, University of Wrocław, Wrocław, Poland

    Agnieszka Chrobak

  4. Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 S. Euclid Ave, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA

    Grzegorz B. Gmyrek

  5. Department of Immunology, Pathophysiology and Veterinary Prevention, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Wrocław, Poland

    Anna Chełmońska-Soyta

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  1. Dorota Wickiewicz
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Correspondence to Grzegorz B. Gmyrek.

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Wickiewicz, D., Chrobak, A., Gmyrek, G.B. et al. Diagnostic accuracy of interleukin-6 levels in peritoneal fluid for detection of endometriosis. Arch Gynecol Obstet 288, 805–814 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-013-2828-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-013-2828-6

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