| pubmed-article:11402619 | pubmed:abstractText | Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is one of the most important angiogenic factors. This study aimed at clarifying the clinical significance of the changes in the serum VEGF (S-VEGF) concentrations in patients with lung cancer during anticancer chemotherapy. Subjects comprised 29 patients with lung cancer (13 adenocarcinomas, 7 squamous cell carcinomas, and 9 small cell carcinomas) who were treated with cisplatin-based chemotherapy. S-VEGF was measured by ELISA. We compared the S-VEGF concentrations between the responders and nonresponders to anticancer chemotherapy. S-VEGF concentrations before treatment of the chemotherapy (pretreatment S-VEGF concentrations) were correlated with the number of WBC, neutrophil count, monocyte count and platelet count but not the lymphocyte count. The mean pretreatment S-VEGF concentrations in responders and those in nonresponders were not significantly different, 509.7 pg/ml in the former and 382.8 pg/ml in the latter, respectively., The S-VEGF concentrations in the responders decreased to a mean of 356.0 pg/ml and 304.1 pg/ml during and at the end of therapy, respectively while those in the nonresponders increased to a mean of 474.2 pg/ml and 598.4 pg/ml during and at the end of therapy. The S-VEGF concentration changes in the responders were significantly different from those in the nonresponders (p = .006). The S-VEGF concentration may relate to tumor burden, however it may not be a good marker for tumor burden, because it can be influenced by various factors such as neutrophil which increases during infection. A decrease in S-VEGF concentrations may improve neoangiogenesis and the immune response, and may correlate with improvements in the quality of life and survival of patients. | lld:pubmed |
