Evaluation of cytokine immunostaining in ovarian neoplasms and endometriomas

Objective: The objective of our study was to quantify and compare the immunostaining of IL-2, IL-5, IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-a in endometriomal tissue, non-neoplastic tumors, benign neoplasms, and malignant ovarian neoplasms. Materials and methods: The study involved 90 patients: 15 non-neoplastic ovarian lesions, 28 ovarian benign neoplasms, 28 ovarian malignant neoplasms, and 19 ovarian endometriomas were dia gnosed. Immunohistochemistry was performed for cytokines IL-2, IL-5, IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-alpha and their concentrations were compared in these groups. Fisher's exact test was used, requiring a P-value of < 0.05 for signifi cance. Results: IL-5 and IL-8 epithelial immunostaining is stronger in endometriomas than in ovarian cancer (P-values of 0.0046 and 0.0149, resp.). The stromal immunostaining of TNF-alpha, IL-5, IL-6, and IL8 is stronger in endometriomas than in ovarian cancer (P-values of 0.0008, < 0.0001, 0.0003, and 0.0006, resp.). Conclusions: Stronger immunostaining of some cytokines in endometriomas compared to ovarian cancer refl ects an infl ammatory and immune response that could be future targets for new discoveries about the infi ltrative behavior of endometriosis.