[The diagnostic and prognostic values of assay of serum vascular endothelial growth factor in epithelial ovarian cancer].

OBJECTIVE

To detect the level of the preoperative serum vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer, and to evaluate the correlation between preoperative serum VEGF level and prognosis of epithelial ovarian cancer.

METHODS

Forty-one patients with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), 10 patients with borderline ovarian tumor (BOT), and 25 women with benign ovarian tumor (BET) were included as three study groups, while 20 healthy women were selected as a control group. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was utilized to measure the serum VEGF level.

RESULTS

The serum VEGF levels in patients with EOC were higher than those in patients with BOT, or with BET, or those in healthy women. The median and ranges of serum VEGF levels were as follows: EOC: median 415.0 pg/ml, range 110-2,120 pg/ml; BOT: median 312.5 pg/ml, range 100-1,250 pg/ml; BET: median 170 pg/ml, range 70-925 pg/ml; healthy women: median 165 pg/ml, range 100-735 pg/ml. When median preoperative serum VEGF levels were grouped by tumor stages, histological grade of tumor cells, histological type of the tumor, lymph node involvement, and omentum involvement, significant correlations between serum levels of VEGF and histological grade, lymph node involvement and omentum involvement were found. The patients with high serum VEGF appeared to be accompanied with poor 3-year survival.

CONCLUSIONS

Preoperative serum VEGF levels seemed to be correlated with the malignant behavior of ovarian cancer, which might provide some prognostic value.