title: Vascular endothelial growth factor gene polymorphisms are associated with prognosis in ovarian cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), an important regulator of angiogenesis and vascular permeability, is involved in various steps of ovarian carcinogenesis. Gene polymorphisms within the gene encoding VEGF were shown to be independently associated with an adverse outcome in various malignancies. No data are available for ovarian cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  In the present multicenter study, we examined three common polymorphisms within the VEGF gene (-634G/C, -1154G/A, and -2578C/A) known to be associated with an increased VEGF production in 563 Caucasian patients with ovarian cancer from Austria and Germany using pyrosequencing. Results were correlated with clinical data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The three investigated polymorphisms did not correlate with any of the investigated clinicopathologic variables. In univariate and multivariate models, no significant correlations between any polymorphism and patients' overall survival were ascertained. Simultaneous carriage of the three homozygous genotypes (i.e., VEGF -634C/C, VEGF -1154G/G, VEGF -2578C/C) known to be associated with increased VEGF expression in an individual patient, however, was independently associated with a shortened overall survival (hazard ratio, 2.1; 95% confidence interval, 1.1-3.9; P=0.02).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We present the first data on VEGF gene polymorphisms in ovarian cancer. Simultaneous carriage of the three investigated homozygous genotypes was shown to be an independent adverse prognosticator of overall survival.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Core Unit for Medical Statistics and Informatics, Medical University of Vienna, Austria. lukas.hefler@meduniwien.ac.at
authors.forename: Lukas A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Hefler
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mustea
authors.forename: Dominique
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Könsgen
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Concin
authors.forename: Berno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tanner
authors.forename: Reiner
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Strick
authors.forename: Georg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Heinze
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Grimm
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Schuster
authors.forename: Clemens
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tempfer
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Reinthaller
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zeillinger
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006720:Homozygote; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000401:mortality; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A