Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) is a secreted multifunctional cytokine and a potent stimulator of angiogenesis in vivo. Elevated bFGF concentrations have been detected in the serum and urine of cancer patients. We measured bFGF by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay from sera taken from 160 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) patients before treatment and stored at −20°C. The patients had been observed for at least 5 years or until death. Serum bFGF concentrations (S-bFGF) ranged from undetectable to 34.7 pg/mL (median, 3.3 pg/mL). S-bFGF was detectable with a similar frequency in all subtypes of NHL. A high pretreatment S-bFGF was associated with poor overall survival. The 5-year survival rate of the patients within the highest quartile of S-bFGF concentrations (S-bFGF = 5.5 pg/mL) was only 39%, in contrast to a 60% survival rate of the patients with lower S-bFGF (P = .019). A high S-bFGF (within the highest quartile) was associated with poor outcome also in large-cell diffuse and immunoblastic lymphomas (5-year survival rates of 28% v56%, respectively; P = .027), which was the largest histologic subgroup (n = 66) within the series. In multivariate analyses, S-bFGF was an independent prognostic factor, both when the highest quartile was used as a cut-off value (P = .0079) and when S-bFGF and the other parameters were entered into the model as continuous variables (P = .024). In the multivariate analyses, S-bFGF had a noticeably stronger prognostic value than serum lactate dehydrogenase and the number of extranodal tumor sites, both of which are currently included as components in the International Prognostic Index.
High expression of MCL1 gene related to vascular endothelial growth factor is associated with poor outcome
in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma