title: Serum interleukin 6, plasma VEGF, serum VEGF, and VEGF platelet load in breast cancer patients.
abstract: Serum and plasma concentrations of vascular endothelial growth factor (sVEGF and pVEGF), serum concentrations of interleukin 6 (IL-6), and VEGF platelet load (VEGF/pl) in the blood of healthy controls (n = 26), breast cancer patients with locoregional disease (n = 31), and patients with progressive advanced disease (n = 73) have been compared. The 95th percentile values for the control population were 250 pg/mL for sVEGF, 30 pg/mL for pVEGF, and 1.6 pg/mL for IL-6. The 95th percentile value of the calculated VEGF/pl was 1.0 pg/10(6) platelets in the control population. Serum VEGF concentrations correlated with platelet number in all the groups. Patients with thrombocytosis had a median sVEGF concentration of 833 pg/mL, compared to 249 pg/mL in other patients (P = 0.018). Serum IL-6 levels correlated with sVEGF levels and with the calculated VEGF/pl. Serum IL-6 concentration was significantly higher in patients with breast cancer compared to healthy controls (P < 0.0001). Median IL-6 serum levels were nearly 10 times higher in patients with metastatic breast cancer as compared to the those with locoregional disease (6.0 pg/mL versus 0.7 pg/mL, respectively). Plasma VEGF and the VEGF/pl were also significantly different in the 3 groups. The ratio between sVEGF and pVEGF tended to be smaller in the metastatic breast cancer group compared to the patients with locoregional disease (median, 7.5 versus 10.1, respectively; P = 0.066), suggestive of more intravasal platelet degranulation in the former group. Serum IL-6 level is the most discriminative factor separating healthy controls and the locoregional and metastatic breast cancer patient groups. These results suggest a role for tumor-derived IL-6 in regulating VEGF expression in platelets and their precursors and also confirm the role of circulating platelets in the storage of VEGF.
authors.affiliation: Angiogenesis Group, Oncology Center, St-Augustinus Hospital, Wilrijk/Antwerp, Belgium.
authors.forename: Ina
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Benoy
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Salgado
authors.forename: Cecile
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Colpaert
authors.forename: Reinhilde
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Weytjens
authors.forename: Peter B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Vermeulen
authors.forename: Luc Y
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Dirix
mesh_terms: D001792:Blood Platelets / Q000737:chemistry*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016002:Discriminant Analysis; D018450:Disease Progression; D016228:Endothelial Growth Factors / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood*; D008222:Lymphokines / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood*; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010949:Plasma / Q000737:chemistry*; D010976:Platelet Count; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; D042442:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factors
chemical_list: D016228:Endothelial Growth Factors; D015850:Interleukin-6; D008222:Lymphokines; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; D042442:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factors