Tuberc Respir Dis.  2008 Mar;64(3):200-205. 10.4046/trd.2008.64.3.200.

Prognostic Value of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) and Basic Fibroblast Growth Factor (bFGF) Expression in Resected Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

• Kim SJ
• Lee JM
• Kim JS
• Kang JY
• Lee SH
• Kim SC
• Lee SY
• Kim CH
• Ahn JH
• Kwon SS
• Kim YK
• Kim KH
• Moon HS
• Song JS
• Park SH
• Moon SH
• Wang YP

• KMID: 1478181
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4046/trd.2008.64.3.200

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Tumor angiogenesis plays an important role in tumor growth, maintenance and metastatic potential. Tumor tissue produces many types of angiogenic growth factors. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) have both been implicated to have roles in tumor angiogenesis. In this study, the expression of tissue VEGF and bFGF from non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients were analyzed.
METHODS
We retrospectively investigated 35 patients with a histologically confirmed adenocarcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma of the lung, where the primary curative approach was surgery. An ELISA was employed to determine the expression of VEGF and bFGF in extracts prepared from 35 frozen tissue samples taken from the cancer patients.
RESULTS
VEGF and bFGF concentrations were significantly increased in lung cancer tissue as compared with control (non-cancerous) tissue. The VEGF concentration was significantly increased in T2 and T3 cancers as compared with T1 cancer. Expression of VEGF was increased in node-positive lung cancer tissue as compared with node-negative lung cancer tissue (p=0.06). VEGF and bFGF expression were not directly related to the stage of lung cancer and patient survival.
CONCLUSION
Expression of VEGF and bFGF were increased in lung cancer tissue, and the expression of VEGF concentration in lung cancer tissue was more likely related with tumor size and the presence of a lymph node metastasis than the expression of bFGF. However, in this study, expression of both VEGF and bFGF in tissue were not associated with patient prognosis.

Keyword

VEGF; bFGF; Angiogenesis; Lung cancer; Prognosis

MeSH Terms

Adenocarcinoma
Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung
Carcinoma, Squamous Cell
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
Fibroblast Growth Factor 2
Humans
Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins
Lung
Lung Neoplasms
Lymph Nodes
Neoplasm Metastasis
Prognosis
Retrospective Studies
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A
Fibroblast Growth Factor 2
Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A

Figure

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  Figure 1 VEGF and bFGF concentrations in control and lung cancer tissue. Compared with control tissue, lung cancer tissue showed significantly increased VEGF and bFGF levels. *Significant difference between control and lung cancer tissue (p<0.01), †Significant difference between control and lung cancer tissue (p<0.05).

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  Figure 2 VEGF and bFGF concentrations in lung cancer tissue according to T stage. Compared with T1, T2+T3 showed significantly increased VEGF level in lung cancer tissue. *Significant difference between T1 and T2+T3 (p<0.05).

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  Figure 3 VEGF and bFGF concentrations in lung cancer tissue according to N stage. Compared with node negative, node positive showed increased tendency of VEGF level in lung cancer tissue. *Increased tendency in node positive lung cancer tissue compared with node negative lung cancer tissue (p=0.06).

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  Figure 4 VEGF and bFGF concentrations in lung cancer tissue according to pathological stage. There was no significant difference according to pathological stage.

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  Figure 5 Kaplan-Meier survival curves of non-small cell lung cancer patients after curative surgery according to the median value of VEGF and bFGF concentrations.

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