Kuroi K, Toi M
Department of Surgery, Tokyo Metropolitan Komagome Hospital, Japan.
Int J Biol Markers. 2001 Jan-Mar;16(1):5-26. doi: 10.1177/172460080101600102.
BACKGROUND/AIMS: To date, numerous studies have demonstrated that several angiogenesis regulators circulate in the blood and may function as endocrine factors in cancer patients. This review aims to give a comprehensive insight into the possible clinical value of circulating angiogenesis regulators, mainly basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), angiogenin, pleiotrophin, thrombospondin (TSP) and endostatin (ES) in cancer patients.
A computerized (MEDLINE) and a manual search based on the reference lists of the publications were performed to identify articles published on this topic.
In a detailed literature search, approximately 100 publications were found up to the end of 1999. Circulating angiogenic factors such as bFGF, VEGF, HGF and angiogenin have been evaluated not only as diagnostic and/or prognostic factors but also as predictive factors in cancer patients. On the other hand, little is known about the clinical significance of negative regulators. Neither the source nor the mechanism of protein externalization has been clarified in detail.
Although there are no known factors with established clinical utility, circulating angiogenesis regulators may be useful in several situations. They could be used to determine the risk of developing cancer, to screen for early detection, to distinguish benign from malignant disease, and to distinguish between different types of malignancies. In patients with established malignancies such factors might be used to determine prognosis, to predict the response to therapy, and to monitor the clinical course. Further investigations are warranted to assess the specific utility of each factor.
背景/目的：迄今为止，众多研究表明，多种血管生成调节因子在血液中循环，可能作为癌症患者的内分泌因子发挥作用。本综述旨在全面深入了解循环血管生成调节因子在癌症患者中的潜在临床价值，主要包括碱性成纤维细胞生长因子（bFGF）、血管内皮生长因子（VEGF）、肝细胞生长因子（HGF）、血管生成素、多效生长因子、血小板反应蛋白（TSP）和内皮抑素（ES）。
通过计算机检索（MEDLINE）并基于已发表文献的参考文献列表进行手工检索，以确定关于该主题的已发表文章。
在详细的文献检索中，截至1999年底共发现约100篇出版物。循环血管生成因子如bFGF、VEGF、HGF和血管生成素不仅被评估为癌症患者的诊断和/或预后因素，还被评估为预测因素。另一方面，关于负调节因子的临床意义知之甚少。蛋白质外化的来源和机制均未得到详细阐明。
尽管目前尚无已确立临床效用的已知因子，但循环血管生成调节因子在多种情况下可能有用。它们可用于确定患癌风险、筛查早期检测、区分良性与恶性疾病以及区分不同类型的恶性肿瘤。在已确诊恶性肿瘤的患者中，此类因子可用于确定预后、预测治疗反应以及监测临床病程。有必要进一步开展研究以评估每种因子的具体效用。
