title: Increased serum levels of vascular endothelial growth factor in patients with renal cell carcinoma.
abstract: Neovascularization, an essential event for the growth of solid tumors, is regulated by a number of angiogenic factors. One such factor, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), is considered to exert a potent angiogenic activity, as indicated by immunohistochemical and molecular evidence. In this study we investigated the serum VEGF level (s-VEGF) in patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC). s-VEGF in peripheral blood samples was analyzed in 40 RCC patients and 40 patients without cancer (controls) using a sandwich enzyme-linked immunoassay. In 20 RCC patients, serum samples were obtained separately from the bilateral renal veins. s-VEGF was also measured before, 4 and 8 weeks after nephrectomy in 11 patients. There were significant differences in s-VEGF between the RCC patients and the controls (207.3+/-32.9 vs. 71.5+/-9.1 pg/ml, mean+/-SE) (P<0.005), between the tumor-bearing renal veins and the contralateral ones (P<0.01), between the pre- and post-nephrectomy situations (P<0.01) and among the various parameters of tumor status such as tumor extent (P<0.001) and existence of metastasis (P<0.001). s-VEGF significantly correlated with the tumor volume obtained by a three-dimensional measurement (r=0.802, P<0.0001). The sensitivity and specificity of s-VEGF at the cut-off level of 100 pg/ml, as determined by the receiver-operating-characteristics curve, were 80.0% and 72.5%, respectively. The results indicate that tumor tissue of RCC liberates VEGF into the systemic blood flow and that s-VEGF is a possible marker for RCC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Akita University School of Medicine.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tsuchiya
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sasaki
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shimoda
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Satoh
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ogawa
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kato
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood; D002292:Carcinoma, Renal Cell / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D016228:Endothelial Growth Factors / Q000097:blood*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007680:Kidney Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D008222:Lymphokines / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009392:Nephrectomy; D012372:ROC Curve; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; D042442:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factors
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D016228:Endothelial Growth Factors; D008222:Lymphokines; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; D042442:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factors