title: Coexpression of PDGFR-alpha, PDGFR-beta and VEGF as a prognostic factor in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the prognostic value of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), platelet-derived growth factor receptor-alpha (PDGFR-a) and beta (PDGFR-ß) expression in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).?
  
  
  METHODS
  The expression of PDGFR-a, PDGFR-ß and VEGF in 63 HCC patients who underwent curative resection was examined by immunohistochemistry (IHC). The correlations between the expression of these biomarkers and the clinicopathological characteristics were analyzed. Patient survival was analyzed by univariate analysis and Cox proportional hazards model.?
  
  
  RESULTS
  Univariate survival analysis showed that PDGFR-a or PDGFR-ß overexpression was of no prognostic significance in predicting disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) (p>0.05), while VEGF overexpression and PDGFR-a/PDGFR-ß/VEGF coexpression were significantly correlated with worse DFS and poorer OS in HCC patients (p<0.05). More importantly, PDGFR-a/PDGFR-ß/VEGF coexpression was an independent prognostic marker for poor survival as indicated by multivariate Cox regression analysis (DFS, hazard ratio 3.122, p=0.001; OS, hazard ratio 4.260, p=0.000).?
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Coexpression of PDGFR-a, PDGFR-ß and VEGF could be considered an independent prognostic biomarker for predicting DFS and OS in HCC patients. This result could be used to identify patients at a higher risk of tumor recurrence and poor prognosis, and help to select therapeutic schemes for the treatment of HCC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Chinese People's Liberation Army General Hospital, Beijing - China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Cheng-Ying
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Li-Xin
authors.initials: LX
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Ya-Li
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Lv
authors.forename: Yu-Lan
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Guang-Hai
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Dai
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000175:diagnosis*; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D020796:Receptor, Platelet-Derived Growth Factor alpha / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D020797:Receptor, Platelet-Derived Growth Factor beta / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000096:biosynthesis*
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; D020796:Receptor, Platelet-Derived Growth Factor alpha; D020797:Receptor, Platelet-Derived Growth Factor beta