Abstract
Purpose :
Aim of the present study is to evaluate the presence of aqueous humour (AH) soluble biomarkers in eyes affected by uveal melanoma (UM) at the time of tumor treatment.
Methods :
Thirty-five eyes affected by primary UM and thirty-five control eyes scheduled for cataract surgery underwent full ophthalmic examination and AH sample collection at time of surgical procedure (brachytherapy and cataract surgery, respectively). AH samples were analyzed by means of ELISA, to detect the concentration of selected cytokines, chemokines and growth factors. The specific concentrations of Interleukin-6 (IL-6), Interleukin-8 (IL-8), Regulated upon Activation, Normal T cell Expressed, and Secreted (RANTES), Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF), basic Fibroblast Growth Factor (bFGF), Monocyte Chemoattractant Protein-1 (MCP-1), Macrophage Inhibiting Factor (MIF) and Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) were calculated on the linearized standard curves
Results :
Compared with the control group, higher levels of IL-6 (p=0.049), IL-8 (p=0.006), RANTES (p=0.008), EGF (p=0.032), bFGF (p=0.016), MIF (p=0.007) and MCP (p=0.020) were detected in eyes with UM. VEGF concentration difference between the two groups was borderline (p=0.058). Comparison study between clinical characteristics and cytokine concentrations showed a positive correlation between tumor thickness and IL-8 (p = 0.032) and degree of retinal detachment and IL-6 (p = 0.021).
Conclusions :
UM is characterized by the presence of retinal neuroinflammatory, angiogenic and immune biomarkers in AH. The proteomic analysis of AH could characterize UM microenvironment, allowing to better understand its pathophysiology.
This is a 2020 ARVO Annual Meeting abstract.