title: Human recombinant erythropoietic agents do not induce changes in circulating levels of endoglin and vascular endothelial growth factor in anemic cancer patients.
abstract: The correlation of erythropoietin (EPO) receptor levels with angiogenesis and progression in some cancers has suggested that EPO could acts directly as an angiogenic factor. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of treatment with human recombinant erythropoietic (rHuEPO) agents in cancer patients with chemotherapy-induced anaemia on endoglin and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) circulating levels as a possible marker of angiogenesis. Endoglin and VEGF were measured in serum samples from 25 cancer patients with chemotherapy-induced anemia before and after 3-4 weeks of treatment with rHuEPO. A group of 28 healthy voluntaries was used as control. VEGF serum levels were significantly higher in cancer patients than in controls. For endoglin, higher levels were observed without reaching statistical significance. No statistically significant differences in endoglin and VEGF serum levels were found between samples obtained before and after treatment with rHuEPO agents. In conclusion, our result do not support that rHuEpo treatment in anaemic cancer patients induce angiogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Oncología Médica, Hospital Universitario de Salamanca, Spain. aocana@usal.es
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ocaña
authors.forename: Alicia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Barbero
authors.forename: Miguel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pericacho
authors.forename: Lorena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bellido
authors.forename: Raquel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Seijas
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: López
authors.forename: Carlota
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Delgado
authors.forename: Diego Soto
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: de Prado
authors.forename: Juan J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Cruz-Hernández
authors.forename: José M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: López-Novoa
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000740:Anemia / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology*; D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000378:metabolism; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000071063:Endoglin; D004920:Erythropoiesis; D004921:Erythropoietin / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000378:metabolism*; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000378:metabolism; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D015703:Antigens, CD; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; C064206:ENG protein, human; D000071063:Endoglin; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; D004921:Erythropoietin