The relationship between serum VEGF concentration and prognosis of lung cancer.
BACKGROUND
VEGF is an important factor for angiogenesis. Although many previous studies have reported an increased serum VEGF concentration in various malignant tumors, there are few studies on the relationship between serum VEGF concentration and its prognosis. This study investigated whether serum VEGF concentration is a prognostic indicator for lung cancer.


METHODS
Using the ELISA kit, we measured the serum VEGF concentrations of 86 patients diagnosed with lung cancer on histologic examination. With a cut off value of 686 pg/mL, the patients were classified as low-concentration (< 686 pg/mL, n=58) or high-concentration (> or = 686 pg/mL, n=28) based on their mean serum VEGF concentration values to compare survival rates, and serum VEGF concentrations for different histologic types and stages.


RESULTS
There was no significant difference in serum VEGF concentration based on stage and histologic type between the two groups. Moreover, there was no significant difference in survival rate between the high-concentration and low-concentration groups (p=0.86).


CONCLUSIONS
This study demonstrates that serum VEGF concentration is not associated with the prognosis of lung cancer.
Park
Seung Ha
SH
Department of Internal Medicine, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Lee
Seung Sei
SS
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000097:blood* / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D015996:Survival Rate; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000097:blood*
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A