Korean J Med.  2002 Dec;63(6):643-648.

The relationship between the serum concentration of VEGF and the prognosis of lung cancer

• Park SH
• Lee SS

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is an important regulator of angiogenesis and vascular permeability. Increased serum VEGF concentrations (sVEGF) have been reported in various types of human cancer. In the current study, we assessed sVEGF to investigate the relationship between the sVEGF level and the prognosis of patients with lung cancer.
METHODS
sVEGF was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in 86 patients with lung cancer. Patients were divided into two groups according to 686 pg/mL of mean sVEGF (Low sVEGF group: sVEGF<686 pg/mL, n= 58; High sVEGF group: sVEGF>or=686 pg/mL, n=28). We analyzed the association of sVEGF according to the pathologic types and clinical staging, and compared the survival rates in two groups.
RESULTS
There was no significant difference of sVEGF among the stages and pathologic types of lung cancer. And no difference was observed between overall survival rates of both groups regard to sVEGF (p=0.86).
CONCLUSION
These results suggest that sVEGF may not be a good marker for prognosis of lung cancer, especially in the advanced cases.

Keyword

VEGF; Angiogenesis; Lung cancer

MeSH Terms

Capillary Permeability
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
Humans
Lung Neoplasms*
Lung*
Prognosis*
Survival Rate
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A*
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A