title: Utility of VEGF and sVEGFR-1 in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid for differential diagnosis of primary lung cancer.
abstract: Published data have shown that the levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and soluble VEGF receptor-1 (sVEGFR-1) in plasma and pleural effusion might be usefulness for lung cancer diagnosis. Here, we performed a prospective study to investigate the utility of VEGF and sVEGFR-1 in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) for differential diagnosis of primary lung cancer. A total of 56 patients with solitary pulmonary massed by chest radiograph or CT screening were enrolled in this study. BALF and plasma samples were obtained from all patients and analyzed for VEGF and sVEGFR-1 using a commercially available sandwich ELISA kit. The results showed that the levels of VEGF in BALF were significantly higher in patients with a malignant pulmonary mass compared with patients with a benign mass (P < 0.001). However, no significant difference of sVEGFR-1 in BALF was found between malignant and non-malignant groups (P = 0.43). With a cut-off value of 214 pg/ml, VEGF showed a sensitivity and specificity of 81.8% and 84.2%, respectively, in predicting the malignant nature of a solitary pulmonary mass. Our study suggests that VEGF is significantly increased in BALF among patients with lung cancer than in benign diseases. Measurement of VEGF in BALF might be helpful for differential diagnosis of primary lung cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, the Affiliated Hospital of School of Medicine, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China.
authors.forename: Chao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.forename: Shi-Fang
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lv
authors.forename: Zhong-Bo
authors.initials: ZB
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Qun-Li
authors.initials: QL
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.forename: Zai-Chun
authors.initials: ZC
authors.lastname: Deng
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism*; D001992:Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid / Q000737:chemistry*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012372:ROC Curve; D055752:Small Cell Lung Carcinoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism; D003074:Solitary Pulmonary Nodule / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000378:metabolism*; D040281:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-1 / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C467484:VEGFA protein, human; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; D040281:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-1