title: Clinical significance of serum vascular endothelial growth factor in malignant pleural mesothelioma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is an aggressive malignant tumor of mesothelial origin associated with asbestos exposure. MPM has a limited response to conventional chemotherapy and radiotherapy so diagnosing MPM early is very important. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is an autocrine growth factor for MPM. Here, we investigated the serum levels of VEGF in patients with MPM in comparison with a population that had been exposed to asbestos without developing MPM.
  
  
  METHODS
  Serum concentrations of VEGF were measured in 51 patients with MPM and 42 individuals with benign asbestos-related diseases (asbestosis or pleural plaques) or who were healthy despite asbestos exposure.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We demonstrated that patients with MPM had significantly higher serum levels of VEGF than a population who had been exposed to asbestos but had not developed MPM, and the patients with advanced stage MPM showed higher levels of VEGF than the early stage patients with MPM. The difference in overall survival between the groups with VEGF serum levels lower and higher than the assumed cutoff of 460 pg/ml was significant.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data suggest that the VEGF serum concentration could be a useful marker for screening MPM among asbestos-exposed individuals and as a prognostic factor.
authors.affiliation: Division of Respiratory Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Hyogo College of Medicine, Hyogo, Japan.
authors.forename: Akihiro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yasumitsu
authors.forename: Chiharu
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tabata
authors.forename: Rie
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tabata
authors.forename: Noriko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hirayama
authors.forename: Aki
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Murakami
authors.forename: Shusai
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: Takayuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Terada
authors.forename: Shinichiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Iida
authors.forename: Kunihiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tamura
authors.forename: Kazuya
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fukuoka
authors.forename: Kozo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kuribayashi
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakano
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001194:Asbestos / Q000009:adverse effects; D001195:Asbestosis / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008654:Mesothelioma / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D010997:Pleural Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology; D011379:Prognosis; D012372:ROC Curve; D015996:Survival Rate; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C467484:VEGFA protein, human; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; D001194:Asbestos