title: Serum angiopoietin-1 as a prognostic marker in resected early stage lung cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We evaluated the clinical significance of angiopoietins and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in patients with resected early stage lung cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study enrolled 101 patients with completely resected non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) of stage I or II, along with 70 healthy volunteers. Serum concentrations of angiopoietin-1, angiopoietin-2, and VEGF were measured with an ELISA. Immunohistochemical expression of angiopoietin-1 was compared with the microvessel density on the lung cancer tissues.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The patients had lower serum angiopoietin-1 (32.1+/-9.9 ng/mL vs. 39.0+/-10.8 ng/mL, p<0.001), higher angiopoietin-2 (1949.2+/-1099.4 pg/mL vs. 1498.6+/-650.0 pg/mL, p<0.01), and higher VEGF (565.1+/-406.3 pg/mL vs. 404.6+/-254.8 pg/mL, p<0.01) levels than the controls. The angiopoietin-2 level was higher in stage II than in stage I patients (p<0.05). The levels of angiopoietin-1 (r=0.28) and angiopoietin-2 (r=0.36) each correlated with the VEGF level. Patients with a higher level of angiopoietin-1 (> or =31.2 ng/mL) had better disease-specific and relapse-free survival than those with a lower angiopoietin-1 level (<31.2 ng/mL). Angiopoietin-1 expression negatively correlated with the microvessel density.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Serum angiopoietin-1 is a potential marker for predicting postoperative survival and recurrence in patients with early stage NSCLC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Ajou University School of Medicine, Youngtong-gu, Suwon, 443-721, South Korea.
authors.forename: Joo Hun
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Ho
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Young Bae
authors.initials: YB
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Young Sun
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Seung Soo
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Sheen
authors.forename: Jin-Hyuk
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Hye Lim
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Keu Sung
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Woo Young
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: Sungsoo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Kyung Joo
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Sung Chul
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.forename: Kyi Beum
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Kwang Joo
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Park