Objective: Recent data suggest that the concentration of interleukin-10 (IL-10) is higher than that of interleukin-6 (IL-6) in the vitreous of eyes of patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. In this study, we evaluated the utility of measuring intravitreal IL-10 and IL-6 concentrations in the diagnosis of intraocular lymphoma.
Methods: Specimens of undiluted vitreous were collected at the time of pars plana vitrectomy and IL-10 and IL-6 concentrations were determined. Vitreous specimens were obtained from 5 patients with suspected intraocular lymphoma and 10 patients with uveitis presumed to be unrelated to a neoplasm.
Results: In all 5 patients eventually diagnosed with intraocular lymphoma, the vitreous IL-10 concentration ranged from 3,040 to 11,200 pg/ml, and was higher than the vitreous IL-6 concentration in all cases. In 9 of the 10 patients with uveitis, the vitreous IL-10 concentrations ranged from less than 2 to 97 pg/ml, with an IL-10/IL-6 ratio of less than 0.11. However, in the remaining case diagnosed as uveitis of unknown etiology, the vitreous IL-10/IL-6 ratio was greater than 1.
Conclusion: Our data suggest that the measurement of vitreous IL-10 concentrations would aid in the diagnosis of intraocular lymphoma.