Molecular Oncology Laboratory, Fundación para la Investigación del Hospital General Universitario, Valencia, Spain.
Lung Cancer. 2011 Nov;74(2):326-31. doi: 10.1016/j.lungcan.2011.02.016. Epub 2011 Apr 9.
The vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) family of ligands and receptors (VEGFR) play an important role in tumor angiogenesis. Increased expression of angiogenic factors in tumors or in blood is associated with poor prognosis. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of VEGF-A and soluble VEGFR-2 (sVEGFR-2) as biomarkers in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
We studied 432 patients with advanced NSCLC (stages IIIB-IV) treated with cisplatin and docetaxel and 89 healthy age-matched controls. Blood samples were collected before chemotherapy, and VEGF-A and sVEGFR-2 levels were determined by ELISA.
VEGF-A and sVEGFR-2 levels were higher in NSCLC patients than in the controls, but VEGF-A behaves as a better diagnostic biomarker. There were no significant associations between VEGF-A and sVEGFR-2 concentrations and clinical characteristics, such as ECOG-PS, gender, stage, histology, metastases, and treatment response. A patient subgroup characterized by a combination of high VEGF-A and low sVEGFR-2 levels exhibited the worst patient prognoses in terms of TTP and OS.
VEGF-A and sVEGFR-2 levels were significantly higher in patients than in the controls. A combination of VEGF-A and sVEGFR-2 can be used as an independent prognostic biomarker in advanced NSCLC.
血管内皮生长因子（VEGF）配体和受体（VEGFR）家族在肿瘤血管生成中起着重要作用。肿瘤或血液中血管生成因子的表达增加与预后不良有关。本研究旨在探讨 VEGF-A 和可溶性 VEGFR-2（sVEGFR-2）作为晚期非小细胞肺癌（NSCLC）生物标志物的作用。
我们研究了 432 名接受顺铂和多西他赛治疗的晚期 NSCLC（IIIb-IV 期）患者和 89 名年龄匹配的健康对照者。在化疗前采集血样，并通过 ELISA 测定 VEGF-A 和 sVEGFR-2 水平。
与对照组相比，NSCLC 患者的 VEGF-A 和 sVEGFR-2 水平较高，但 VEGF-A 是更好的诊断生物标志物。VEGF-A 和 sVEGFR-2 浓度与 ECOG-PS、性别、分期、组织学、转移和治疗反应等临床特征之间无显著相关性。VEGF-A 水平高和 sVEGFR-2 水平低的患者亚组在 TTP 和 OS 方面的预后最差。
与对照组相比，患者的 VEGF-A 和 sVEGFR-2 水平明显升高。VEGF-A 和 sVEGFR-2 的组合可作为晚期 NSCLC 的独立预后生物标志物。
