title: Levels of bone marrow microvessel density are crucial for evaluating the status of acute myeloid leukemia.
abstract: The aim of the present study was to determine the efficacy of bone marrow microvessel density (BM-MVD) in the evaluation of the status of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The levels of serum and bone marrow vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and BM-MVD in 28 patients with AML, 10 patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, 10 patients with anemia and 14 patients with AML that achieved complete remission for six months (AML-DFS) subsequent to chemotherapy were determined by ELISA and immunohistochemistry. The levels of serum VEGF in patients with hematological disorders were significantly increased compared with the levels in the healthy controls. The levels of BM VEGF and BM-MVD in AML patients were significantly higher compared with the levels in the patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma or anemia. Following chemotherapy, the levels of serum VEGF significantly increased and the levels of BM VEGF decreased in the AML patients, regardless of their therapeutic responses, compared with the levels prior to treatment. By contrast, the levels of BM-MVD in the AML patients were significantly reduced in the patients that completely recovered from AML (AML-DFS group), compared with those in other groups. The present data indicate that the levels of BM-MVD are valuable for evaluating the status of AML.
authors.affiliation: Cancer Center, The First Hospital, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin 130021, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yanqiu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Jilin Province People's Hospital, Changchun, Jilin 130021, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology, The Fourth Hospital, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin 130021, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Libo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology, The Fourth Hospital, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin 130021, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Jilin Cancer Hospital, Changchun, Jilin 130021, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, The First Hospital, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin 130021, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Liu
keywords: acute myeloid leukemia; bone marrow microvessel density; vascular endothelial growth factor