Biomarker potential of IL-6 and VEGF-A in ascitic fluid of epithelial ovarian cancer patients

EOC patients showed significantly higher levels for IL-6 (median-5636 pg/ml) and VEGF-A (median-4556 pg/ml) in ascitic fluid compared to controls. Levels of IL-6 and VEGF-A significantly correlated with clinico-pathological parameters. ROC curves of IL-6 and VEGF-A showed absolute combination of sensitivity and specificity. Kaplan Meier analysis demonstrated that higher levels of IL-6 and VEGF-A were significantly associated with shorter progression free survival. Thus, this study revealed that IL-6 and VEGF-A have great potential to be used as superior bio-markers for progression free survival in future after validation in larger patients' cohort.