Abstract 398: Interleukin 6 may predict chemoresistant ovarian cancer

Abstract

Abstract Interleukin 6 (IL-6) has been hypothesized to facilitate the growth and progression of some malignancies by increasing angiogenesis. The aim of this study was to evaluate ovarian ascites from chemotherapy-naïve ovarian cancer patients and determine whether cytokines including IL-6 could predict resistance. After IRB approval, patient ascites and metastatic implants were collected. The metastatic implants were evaluated for platinum sensitivity by treatment with 50 uM carboplatin for 48 hours and then cell viability was analyzed. The cells were removed by centrifugation from the ascites fluid and expression of IL-6, IL-1a, IL-1ra, IL-8, VEGF, and RANTES was evaluated in the fluid and lysed cells separately using a Millipore Custom Magnetic Bead Kit (Millipore, Billerica, MA) on a Bio-Plex Cytokine Assay (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Hercules, CA). Twelve patients with advanced stage ovarian papillary serous carcinoma undergoing primary cytoreductive surgery had ascites samples which were adequate for analysis. Six patients were platinum sensitive and 6 patients were platinum resistant. IL-6 levels in the acellular fluid correlated with chemoresistance (P = 0.05). IL-1a and IL-1ra levels tended to be associated with chemoresistance (P = 0.22; P = 0.1) while IL-8 and VEGF levels tended to be associated with chemosensitivity (P = 0.23; P = 0.16). RANTES showed no association with either chemoresistance or chemosensitivity. Levels of cytokines extracted from the cells were low and did not impact the results of analysis of the cytokines. We conclude that levels of IL-6 in ascites may indicate platinum resistance. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 398. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-398