title: Serum vascular endothelial growth factor C level in patients with prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare serum vascular endothelial growth factor C (VEGF-C) levels in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and prostate cancer (PCa) and analyze VEGF-C levels in relation to clinicopathologic parameters.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-eight patients with PCa and 61 patients with BPH were included in this study. Serum VEGF-C levels were assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The serum VEGF-C level for patients with PCa was 3,432.06 +/- 1,851.07 as opposed to 3,166.68 +/- 1,921.2 for patients with BPH. There was no statistically significant difference between the 2 groups (p = 0.4448). There was no correlation of VEGF-C to tumor stage, grading or the preoperative prostate-specific antigen values.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We cannot recommend VEGF-C serum level as a marker for tumor growth in PCa.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, University Hospital Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Voss
authors.forename: Lutz
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Trojan
authors.forename: Annette
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Steidler
authors.forename: Christel
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Weiss
authors.forename: Rainer
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Grobholz
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Alken
authors.forename: Maurice Stephan
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Michel
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011470:Prostatic Hyperplasia / Q000097:blood*; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000097:blood*; D042582:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor C / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D042582:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor C