title: Imbalance between vascular endothelial growth factor and endostatin correlates with the prognosis of operable non-small cell lung cancer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Angiogenesis is regulated by a balance of pro-angiogenic and anti-angiogenic factors. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and endostatin respectively represents a frequent component of inducers and inhibitors in the process of angiogenesis. The ratio of VEGF/endostatin may reflect the balance of angiogenic switch. This study aimed to determine whether an imbalance between VEGF/endostatin exists in operable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients and to assess the correlation, if any, between the imbalance and the prognosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Preoperative serum levels of VEGF and endostatin were simultaneously determined by quantitiative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and the ratio of them was calculated among 98 NSCLC patients and 51 healthy controls. The relationship between these factors and clinicopathological features, including prognosis, was examined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The ratio of VEGF/endostatin levels was significantly higher in operable NSCLC patients [median, 10.4; interquartile range (IQR), 5.9-19.8] than in normal controls [median, 5.1; IQR, 3.3-9.7] (P = 0.002). While the ratio in patients who were still alive for more than 60 months was 8.3 (IQR, 4.3-17.9), the ratio in those who died was 12.9 (IQR, 8.0-22.1) (p = 0.017). In subgroup analysis of patients with pathological stage N0, there was a statistically significant increase of the survival time in the group with a lower ratio than in the group with a higher ratio (p = 0.032). Multivariate analysis confirmed that the VEGF/endostatin ratio was an independent prognostic factor (p = 0.018).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There was an imbalance between VEGF and endostatin in serum of operable NSCLC patients. The imbalance correlated with the prognosis of operable NSCLC.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Medicine, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University & Beijing Tuberculosis and Thoracic Tumor Research Institute, 101149, China.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Department of General Medicine, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University & Beijing Tuberculosis and Thoracic Tumor Research Institute, 101149, China.
authors.forename: M-m
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University & Beijing Tuberculosis and Thoracic Tumor Research Institute, China.
authors.forename: G-L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University & Beijing Tuberculosis and Thoracic Tumor Research Institute, China.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Department of General Medicine, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University & Beijing Tuberculosis and Thoracic Tumor Research Institute, 101149, China. Electronic address: libaolan1109@163.com.
authors.forename: B-L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000097:blood* / Q000601:surgery; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000097:blood* / Q000601:surgery; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000097:blood* / Q000601:surgery; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D043169:Endostatins / Q000097:blood*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011013:Pneumonectomy; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D043169:Endostatins; C467484:VEGFA protein, human; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A
keywords: Endostatin; Imbalance; Non-small cell lung cancer; Prognosis; Vascular endothelial growth factor