title: Correlation between serum level of vascular endothelial growth factor and subfoveal choroidal thickness in patients with POEMS syndrome.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The study was conducted to determine whether serum vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels are significantly correlated with subfoveal choroidal thickness (CT) and foveal thickness (FT) in patients with polyneuropathy, organomegaly, endocrinopathy, monoclonal gammopathy, and skin changes (POEMS) syndrome.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this cross-sectional observational case series, we studied 31 eyes of 16 treatment-naïve patients with POEMS syndrome with no evidence of fundus abnormalities. Subfoveal CT and FT were measured using enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography (EDI-OCT), and correlations between serum VEGF levels and subfoveal CT and FT were determined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean subfoveal CT was 417.9 ± 73.5 μm (right eye, 416.7 ± 81.2 μm; left eye, 419.0 ± 68.1 μm), and the mean FT was 243.8 ± 35.2 μm (right eye, 248.8 ± 22.0 μm; left eye, 239.1 ± 44.6 μm). There was a significant positive correlation between the serum VEGF level and subfoveal CT (right eye, r = 0.58, p = 0.021; left eye, r = 0.60, p = 0.012), but the correlation between the level of serum VEGF and FT was not significant (right eye, r = 0.007, p > 0.05; left eye, r = 0.25, p > 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The significant correlation between the serum VEGF level and subfoveal CT in patients with POEMS syndrome suggests that choroidal thickness is influenced by the level of serum VEGF. These results not only aid in an understanding of the pathogenesis of ocular changes in patients with POEMS syndrome, but also offer clues regarding the pathogenesis of other choroidal diseases.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, 1-8-1 Inohana, chuo-ku, Chiba City, Chiba, 260-0856, Japan. yokouchi123@peace.ocn.ne.jp.
authors.forename: Hirotaka
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yokouchi
authors.affiliation: Departments of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, 1-8-1 Inohana, chuo-ku, Chiba City, Chiba, 260-0856, Japan.
authors.forename: Takayuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Baba
authors.affiliation: Neurology, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Sonoko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Misawa
authors.affiliation: Neurology, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan.|Molecular Diagnosis, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan.|Division of Laboratory Medicine and Clinical Genetics, Chiba University Hospital, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Setsu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sawai
authors.affiliation: Neurology, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Minako
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Beppu
authors.affiliation: Departments of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, 1-8-1 Inohana, chuo-ku, Chiba City, Chiba, 260-0856, Japan.
authors.forename: Masayasu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kitahashi
authors.affiliation: Departments of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, 1-8-1 Inohana, chuo-ku, Chiba City, Chiba, 260-0856, Japan.
authors.forename: Toshiyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Oshitari
authors.affiliation: Neurology, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kuwabara
authors.affiliation: Departments of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, 1-8-1 Inohana, chuo-ku, Chiba City, Chiba, 260-0856, Japan.
authors.forename: Shuichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002829:Choroid / Q000473:pathology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D005584:Fovea Centralis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009929:Organ Size; D016878:POEMS Syndrome / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology*; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: C467484:VEGFA protein, human; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A
keywords: Foveal thickness; POEMS syndrome; Subfoveal choroidal thickness; Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)