Abstract: Objective To evaluate the significance of interferon-γ(IFN-γ) and vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF) in differentiating tuberculous pleural effusion from malignant pleural effusion.Methods forty-five patients with tuberculous pleural effusion and 42 patients with malignant pleural effusion in Wuhan Antituberculosis Institute,from March 2004 to May 2005,were the study subject.The adenosine deaminase(ADA),IFN-γ,carcinoembryonic antigen(CEA) and VEGF levels of pleural effusion were detected.The sensitivity,specificity and accuracy of ADA,IFN-γ,CEA,VEGF and VEGF/IFN-γ ratio were obtained through ROC.Results The ADA and IFN-γ levels of tuberculous group were significantly higher than that of malignant group(P<0.01),while its CEA,VEGF levels and VEGF/IFN-γ ratio were significantly lower than that of malignant group(P<0.01).The sensitivity and specificity of IFN-γ were higher than that of ADA.The sensitivity and specificity of VEGF/IFN-γ ratio were higher than that of CEA and VEGF.Conclusion IFN-γ and VEGF/IFN-γ ratio could be used as valuable parameters for the differentiation of tuberculous pleural effusion from malignant pleural effusion.

Key words: Interferon-γ, Vascular endothelial growth factor, Tuberculousis, Pleural effusion