Influence of serum VEGF levels on therapeutic outcome and diagnosis/prognostic value in patients with cervical cancer.
OBJECTIVE
To explore the influence of serum vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) level on therapeutic outcome and diagnosis/prognostic value in patients with cervical cancer.


METHODS
A total of 37 patients diagnosed with cervical cancer by biopsy were selected and treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy. Double-antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was adopted before treatment to assess VEGF levels, and its relationships with clinicopathological features and short-term therapeutic effects were analyzed.


RESULTS
The median VEGF level in 37 patients before treatment was 647.15 (393.35~1125.16) pg/ mL. Serum VEGF levels in patients aged <50 years, in International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage IIIa~IVa, with lymph node metastasis and tumor size>4 cm were significantly increased (P<0.05). The complete remission (CR) rate was 48.7% (18/37), partial remission (PR) rate was 35.1% (13/37), stable disease (SD) rate was 13.5% (5/37) and progressive disease (PD) rate was 2.70% (1/37), so the objective remission rate (ORR) after treatment was 83.8% (31/37). Logistic regression analysis showed that tumor size and serum VEGF level before treatment were independent risk factors affecting the therapeutic outcome, and the higher the level of serum VEGF, the worse the prognosis when tumor size>4 cm. Some 56.8% of patients manifested with myelosuppression, 37.8% with leucopenia, 24.3% with thrombocytopenia, 5.41% with diarrhea, 46.0% with nausea and vomiting, 21.6% with hair loss and 8.11% with hepatic and renal injury during the treatment.


CONCLUSIONS
Serum VEGF level may reflect the degree of malignancy of cervical cancer and predict therapeutic effect, which is of great importance to cancer diagnosis and prognosis.
Department of Oncology, Xiangyang Central Hospital, Xiangyang, Hubei, China E-mail : gong1365@21cn.com.
Ke
K
Du
Hong-Ying
HY
Gong
Zhi-Min
ZM
Gong
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000097:blood* / Q000556:secondary / Q000628:therapy; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D018288:Carcinoma, Small Cell / Q000097:blood* / Q000556:secondary / Q000628:therapy; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000097:blood* / Q000556:secondary / Q000628:therapy; D059248:Chemoradiotherapy; D002945:Cisplatin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008875:Middle Aged; D060787:Neoplasm Grading; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D017239:Paclitaxel / Q000008:administration & dosage; D011379:Prognosis; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000097:blood*; D055815:Young Adult
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C467484:VEGFA protein, human; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; D017239:Paclitaxel; D002945:Cisplatin