Serum vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and VEGF‐C levels as tumor markers in patients with cervical carcinoma

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Abstract
BACKGROUND: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and VEGF‐C play a crucial role in the regulation of tumor growth and metastasis. The current study examined the significance of serum VEGF and VEGF‐C levels in relation to conventional clinicopathologic parameters, response to treatment, and survival in patients with cervical carcinoma.METHODS: Between December 1999 and March 2004, serum VEGF and VEGF‐C levels were analyzed in 78 patients with cervical carcinoma undergoing primary treatment (primary surgery [n = 40] and radiotherapy [n = 38]), as well as in 30 healthy controls. Serum VEGF and VEGF‐C levels were assessed by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay before and within 2 weeks after treatment.RESULTS: Serum VEGF and VEGF‐C levels were higher in patients with cervical carcinoma than in the healthy control (P = 0.0002 and P = 0.0007, respectively). Both VEGF and VEGF‐C concentrations increased significantly in patients with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC vs. normal control: P < 0.0001 and P = 0.0001, respectively), but not in adenocarcinoma (vs. normal control: P = 0.2982 and P = 0.7766, respectively). In an analysis of SCC, the pretherapeutic serum levels of VEGF and VEGF‐C correlated significantly with advanced International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage and large tumor size, but not with lymph node metastasis. The pretherapeutic serum level of VEGF‐C also correlated significantly with disease recurrence or persistence after treatment. Both serum VEGF and VEGF‐C levels decreased significantly after treatment.CONCLUSIONS: The serum levels of both VEGF and VEGF‐C have potential usefulness as biologic markers of SCC of the uterine cervix. Cancer 2005. © 2005 American Cancer Society.