Changes of Cytokines in Aqueous Humor of Retinoblastoma with Intravitreal Melphalan

To explore the levels of cytokines in the aqueous humor (AH) of patients diagnosed with retinoblastoma (RB) who received intravitreal melphalan (IVM).

A total of 28 eyes from 27 patients diagnosed with RB who received IVM were enrolled, along with 14 eyes from 14 patients with congenital cataracts as controls. The clinical features of the patients were recorded before and after IVM. 27 cytokines concentrations in AH samples collected from these patients were measured by a suspension array system.

The levels of IL-8, IL-17A, Eotaxin, G-CSF, and PDGF-BB increased significantly following IVM administration in RB patients (p<0.05). Post IVM treatments, the levels of IL-5, IL-8, IL-9, IL-12p70, IL-15, IL-17A, G-CSF, IP-10, MIP-1α, PDGF-BB, TNF-α, and VEGF were higher in eyes that developed ocular toxicity than those eyes didn't (p<0.05). The ocular toxicity group received a higher cumulative dose and mean per dose of intravitreal melphalan. The elevated cytokines subsequent to IVM were associated with the number of treatments and cumulative dose of intravitreal melphalan.

The results revealed a notable increase in cytokine levels subsequent to IVM interventions. Elevated cytokine concentrations in the eyes of RB patients post-IVM may be associated with ocular toxicities.