Fig. 6.

Levels of IL-1β (A), IL-8 (B), IFN-γ (C) and TNF-α (D) in 80 treated women and 34 controls. IL-1β (A) and IL-8 (B) were both significantly elevated prior to treatment in 80 women compared to 34 healthy controls (p < 0.0001 and p = 0.0014, respectively, unpaired t test). There was no significant change in the levels after excision, and they remained significantly higher than healthy controls (p < 0.0001, unpaired t test and p = 0.0035, paired t test, respectively). IFN-γ (C) was significantly lower prior to treatment compared to controls (p = 0.01, unpaired t test). Levels were significantly higher after treatment (p = 0.002, paired t test) and were similar to those seen in controls (p > 0.99, unpaired t test). TNF-α (D) was raised pre-treatment compared to controls, but this was not significant (p = 0.62, unpaired t test). After treatment, TNF-α levels fell when compared to the paired pre-treatment levels but this was non-significant (p = 0.10, paired t test) and was found at a level similar to that of untreated controls (p > 0.99, unpaired t test). Dots depict individual samples; error bars denote median and interquartile ranges, ***p < 0.001; **p < 0.01; *p < 0.05