[Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) are elevated in peripheral blood plasma of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia and decrease after intensive fludarabine-based treatment].

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is characterized by extraordinary heterogeneity in terms of clinical course with overall survival ranging from several months to dozens of years. It is currently not possible to accurately predict the future clinical course in an individual patient. Angiogenesis has been recently reported as a potential prognostic factor in various hematological malignancies including CLL. The objective of the present study was to quantify plasma levels of key angiogenic activators vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) in patients with CLL and determine their potential change after intensive fludarabine-based treatment. Peripheral blood EDTA plasma concentrations of bFGF and VEGF were measured using comercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 73 patients with untreated CLL (43 males, 30 females, median age, 65 years, range 31-88) and 80 healthy donors serving as control group. We found statistically significant increase in concentrations in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia compared to the control group (p < 0.0001 for both cytokines). No differences in angiogenic factors were noted between subgroups with low vs. intermediate vs. high-risk stage according to modified Rai staging or males vs. females. In twelve patients who achieved at least partial response after intensive fludarabine-based treatment, levels of bFGF as well as VEGF decreased significantly (bFGF, p = 0.0005; VEGF, p = 0.0068); in addition, they were no more significantly different from controls (bFGF, p = 0.524; VEGF, p = 0.728). Our data showed that key angiogenic activators bFGF and VEGF were elevated in plasma ofCLL patients. Furthemore, treatment with intensive fludarabine-containing regimens resulted in significant decrease of both cytokines. These data suggest that angiogenic cytokines may indeed play a significant role in CLL biology and that treatment with combination of fludarabine, cyclophosphamide +/- rituximab may exhibit antiangiogenic properties. Further studies with longer follow-up are necessary for evaluation of a possible association between angiogenic markers and progression-free survival or overall survival.