Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) Serum Levels during Cancer Immunotherapy with IL-2: Preliminary Considerations

Neoangiogenesis has been proven to play a fundamental role in promoting cancer spread, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is known to represent one of the most important angiogenic factors. The present study was planned to investigate changes in VEGF secretion in cancer patients undergoing immunotherapy with IL-2, with the aim of establishing whether VEGF variations play a role in mediating the IL-2-induced control of neoplastic diseases. The study involved 14 metastatic renal cell cancer patients treated with IL-2 immunotherapy (6 million IU/day subcutaneously for 6 days/week for 4 weeks). The clinical response consisted of partial response (PR) in 3, stable disease (SD) in 6 and progressive disease (PD) in the remaining 5 patients. VEGF serum levels were measured by an enzyme immunoassay designed to determine both bound and unbound VEGF. No significant changes in VEGF mean levels occurred during IL-2 therapy. Moreover, neither in patients with PR or SD nor in those with PD did the mean serum levels of VEGF change significantly in response to IL-2. This preliminary study seems to exclude that changes in the angiogenic factor VEGF may play a role in mediating the therapeutic efficacy of IL-2 cancer immunotherapy. However, since the method of measurement used in our study was designed to detect the total amount of VEGF, it cannot be excluded that changes in the free fraction of the molecule may occur during IL-2 cancer immunotherapy.

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361: Serum Levels of Angiogenin and Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) Predict Metastatic Disease in Renal Cell Cancer Patients

The Journal of Urology ◽

10.1016/s0022-5347(18)34614-7 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 173 (4S) ◽

pp. 99-99 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Marcus Horstmann ◽

Axel S. Merseburger ◽

Markus A. Kuczyk ◽

Arnulf Stenzl ◽

Karl-Horst Bichler ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor ◽

Growth Factor ◽

Cancer Patients ◽

Renal Cell Cancer ◽

Metastatic Disease ◽

Renal Cell ◽

Cell Cancer ◽

Serum Levels ◽

Vascular Endothelial ◽

Endothelial Growth Factor

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Human recombinant erythropoietic agents (rHuEPO) do not induce changes in circulating levels of endoglin and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in anaemic cancer patients

Journal of Clinical Oncology ◽

10.1200/jco.2007.25.18_suppl.19569 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 25 (18_suppl) ◽

pp. 19569-19569

Author(s):

A. Ocana ◽

A. Rodríguez-Barbero ◽

M. Pericacho ◽

L. Bellido ◽

E. Fonseca ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor ◽

Growth Factor ◽

Cancer Patients ◽

Serum Levels ◽

Angiogenic Factor ◽

Vascular Endothelial ◽

Wilcoxon Rank Sum Test ◽

Before And After ◽

Endothelial Growth Factor ◽

Circulating Levels

19569 Background: The expression of Erythropoietin (EPO) receptors on cancer cells and the correlation of EPO receptor levels with angiogenesis and progression in some cancers have suggested that EPO could acts directly as an angiogenic factor. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of treatment with human recombinant erythropoietic agents (rHuEPO) in cancer patients with chemotherapy-induced anaemia on Endoglin and Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) circulating levels as a possible marker of angiogenesis. Methods: Endoglin and VEGF were measured in serum samples from 25 cancer patients with chemotherapy-induced anaemia before and after 3 to 4 weeks of treatment with rHuEPO (Epoetin alfa 150 UI/Kg three times per week; darbepoetin alfa 150 mcg/weekly). A group of 28 healthy voluntaries were used as control. Endoglin and VEGF were analyzed using an ELISA commercial Kit (R&D Systems; Ciudad-Pais). T- student test was used to study the association between variables. Paired comparisons before and after treatment were performed using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test. Results: VEGF serum levels were significantly higher in cancer patients than in controls (476,66±72,56 pg/ml versus 227,34±24,58 pg/ml, p<0.001, respectively). Endoglin levels were significantly higher in patients than controls, although this difference did not reach statistical significance (4.75±0.30ng/ml versus 4.18±0.12 ng/ml, p=0.075). Similar results were found in the different subgroups of patients (Breast cancer, endoglin p=0.019; VEGF p=0.009; Colon cancer, endoglin p=0.084; VEGF p<0.001). Using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test no statistically significant differences in endoglin (p=0.510) and VEGF (p=0.313) serum levels were found between samples obtained before and after treatment with rHuEPO agents. When considering the type of rHuEPO, no differences were observed. In a similar manner, no difference was observed depending on chemotherapy regimen or cancer type. Conclusions: Although the follow up is short and the number of patients is small, our exploratory results do not support that rHuEpo treatment in anaemic cancer patients induce angiogenic serum markers. No significant financial relationships to disclose.

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The expression of RUNX3 gene in renal cell cancer and its clinical relevance with serum vascular endothelial growth factor

International Journal of Molecular and Immuno Oncology ◽

10.18203/issn.2456-3994.intjmolimmunooncol20172646 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

pp. 73

Author(s):

Kalpesh Mahesh Parmar ◽

Mamta Singla ◽

Arup Kumar Mandal ◽

Shalmoli Bhattacharya ◽

Sharwan Kumar Singh

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor ◽

Growth Factor ◽

Cancer Patients ◽

Renal Cancer ◽

Tumor Tissue ◽

Cell Cancer ◽

Vascular Endothelial ◽

Runx3 Gene ◽

Endothelial Growth Factor

Background: Latest advances indicate that RUNX3 is a candidate tumor suppressor in several types of human cancers, including renal cell cancer. However, its definitive role is not yet established. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has been widely studied as a surrogate marker of angiogenic activity and prognostic marker in renal cancer for monitoring treatment response and detection of early relapse. The aim of the study was to examine the clinical significance of RUNX3 expression and serum VEFG in series of renal cancer patients using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and standard enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit and find its correlation with renal cancer stage, grade, and histopathology. Materials and Methods: We reviewed our prospectively collected renal cancer database of 47 patients. All patients were evaluated preoperatively and staged and underwent partial or radical nephrectomy as per the feasibility criteria. RUNX 3 expression in tumor tissue and adjoining parenchyma was sampled in all patients, and serum levels of VEGF were measured in pre-and post-operative period on day 7 and day 30 after surgery. 10 age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers served as control group. Results: We observed that RUNX3 gene expression was significantly lower in tumor tissue than in normal renal parenchyma of a renal cancer patient. The serum VEGF levels were significantly increased in patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) compared to normal healthy volunteers and showed decreasing trend after the surgery. Loss of RUNX3 gene expression and higher VEGF levels strongly correlated with high-grade tumors; however, it was not related to tumor size and histopathology. There was no correlation of RUNX 3 with VEGF levels in RCC patients. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that renal cancer patients had increased VEGF levels which were effectively alleviated by curative resection. Lower expression of RUNX3 in renal cancer suggests its tumor suppressive role and new insights into targeted therapies linking RUNX3 gene may have some diagnostic and therapeutic implications in RCC patients. We did not find any correlation between RUNX3 gene and serum VEGF.

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