title: Distinct patterns of angiogenic factor expression as a predictive factor of response to chemotherapy in stage IIIA non-small-cell lung cancer patients.
abstract: The expression of various angiogenic factors was assessed in tumour samples of patients with stage III non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and further evaluated in terms of response to induction paclitaxel-ifosfamide-cisplatin chemotherapy. Freshly isolated lung tumour specimens obtained by bronchoscopy from 70 stage IIIA NSCLC chemotherapy-naïve patients were sampled and analysed for vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR)-1, VEGFR-2 and VEGFR-3. Microvessel density was assessed through evaluating the angiogenic markers CD34 and CD105. Immunostaining scores were calculated by multiplying the percentage of labeled cells by the intensity of staining for each examined parameter. The overall mean immunostaining score value from all NSCLC samples was 7.83, 5.56 and 15.86 for VEGFR-1, VEGFR-2 and VEGFR-3, respectively. The overall mean value of the endothelial antigen CD34 was 16.29, whereas the expression of the CD105 antigen in endothelial cells yielded a multivariate distribution. Patients who responded to chemotherapy expressed significantly higher VEGFR-1 and VEGFR-3 mean values compared with non-responders (P<0.001). No significant difference was noted in VEGFR-2 mean values between these two groups (P=0.06). The CD34 mean value was significantly higher in responders (P<0.001), whereas there was no significant difference in CD105 expression between the two groups (P=0.07). Angiogenic marker expression proved to be a potential predictive factor of response to chemotherapy in stage III NSCLC. which merits further investigation.
authors.affiliation: Oncology Unit, Department of Pathophysiology, Laiko General Hospital, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Nikolaos
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Koufos
authors.affiliation: 2nd Department of Medical Oncology, 'St. Savvas' Cancer Hospital, 11522 Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Syrios
authors.affiliation: Oncology Unit, Department of Pathophysiology, Laiko General Hospital, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Despina
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Michailidou
authors.affiliation: Imperial Clinical Trials Unit-Cancer, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Charing Cross Hospital, Imperial College, London W6 8RF, UK.
authors.forename: Ioannis D
authors.initials: ID
authors.lastname: Xynos
authors.affiliation: 1st Department of Pathology, Laiko General Hospital, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lazaris
authors.affiliation: 1st Department of Pathology, Laiko General Hospital, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Nicolaos
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kavantzas
authors.affiliation: 2nd Department of Propedeutic Surgery, Laiko General Hospital, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Periclis
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tomos
authors.affiliation: 1st Department of Thoracic Surgery, 'Sotiria' General Hospital of Chest Diseases, 11527 Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Stamatis
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kakaris
authors.affiliation: 2nd Division of Medical Oncology, Department of Medicine, Metaxa Cancer Hospital, 18537 Piraeus, Greece.
authors.forename: Christos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kosmas
authors.affiliation: Oncology Unit, Department of Pathophysiology, Laiko General Hospital, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Nikolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tsavaris
keywords: angiogenesis; chemotherapy; cytokines; microvessel density; non-small-cell lung cancer; predictive factors; prognostic factors; vascular endothelial growth factor receptors