Atta S, Kamel M, Mansour W, et al. - Given that imbalance between protein in the peritoneal cavity and absorption of fluids via the lymphatic system results in malignant ascites and more than twenty interleukins have an important role in protecting against tumors, researchers undertook this investigation among 45 patients with liver cirrhosis and ascites, as ascertained by histopathological and ultra-sonographic results, to evaluate the levels of ascitic fluid IL1B, IL2, IL4, IL6, IL10, TNFα, and IFNγ. Two groups of these patients were defined based on presence of hepatic focal lesions. Experts randomly selected 10 patients with focal hepatic lesions for assessment of serum concentrations of IL2 and IL10. They found that hepatocellular carcinoma patients exhibited higher levels of ascitic fluid IL-4, IL-6 and IL-10, relative to patients with only cirrhosis. Better prognostication was achieved with levels of ascitic fluid IL2 and IL10 vs their concentrations in sera of the same patients. Overall, for predicting transformation into hepatocellular carcinoma for cirrhosis patients, they may be subjected to scheduled examination of ascitic fluid cytokine.