title: Plasma VEGF-A and its soluble receptor R1 correlate with the clinical stage of colorectal cancer.
abstract: Our aim was to assess plasma VEGF-A and its soluble receptor R1 (sVEGF-R1) in patients with colorectal cancer, in comparison with apparently healthy subjects.
  
  
  METHODS
  Samples of plasma were collected from 26 patients with colorectal cancer before surgery and on post-operative day 3 and 10, frozen and eventually assessed, using ELISA kits.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found an increase in VEGF-A in colorectal cancer patients and a strong positive correlation between metastatic spread and postoperative VEGF-A, which also correlated with CA19.9. Soluble VEGF-R1 showed a positive correlation with lymph node involvement.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings may suggest that the patients with high postoperative VEGF-A should be scanned for metastases. In view of our finding that sVEGFR-1 correlates with lymph node involvement, precautions must be taken in studies of sVEGFR-1 as a potential therapeutic agent.
authors.affiliation: The 2nd Department of General and Gastroenterological Surgery, Medical University of Białystok, Poland. mpiotr@amb.edu.pl
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Myśliwiec
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Piotrowski
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zalewski
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kukliński
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Pawlak
mesh_terms: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000098:blood supply / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic; D040262:Receptors, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor / Q000097:blood*; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; D040262:Receptors, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor