Purpose of study: To investigate whether serum levels of leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), interleukin 10 (IL-10) and interleukin 11 (IL-11) are different in reference to the site of implantation.
Methods: Seventeen patients with laparoscopic diagnoses of tubal ectopic pregnancy (EP) and 19 patients with intrauterine pregnancy delivering healthy term neonates (IUP) were prospectively evaluated for LIF, IL-10 and IL-11 levels. The data were compared by using the Student's t-test, chi-square test, Kruskal-Wallis and the Mann-Whitney U test with Bonferroni's correction (p < 0.05) as appropriate.
Results: A statistically significant difference was observed in serum LIF levels between the EP and IUP groups (p = 0.002). Ranges of LIF were 15-300 and 70-1200 ng/ml for the IUP and EP groups, respectively. There were no significant differences between groups in terms of IL-10 and IL-11 levels.
Conclusion: LIF, but not IL-10 or IL-11, levels may be increased in early tubal ectopic pregnancies when compared to normal intrauterine pregnancies.