Abstract
BackgroundVascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) plays a major role in angiogenesis. One of the functions of VEGF is to regulate neovascularization in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (CCRCC). The objective of our study was to examine whether before nephrectomy serum levels of VEGF or expression of VEGF using immunohistochemistry (IHC) could predict postoperative recurrence in nonmetastatic CCRCC.ResultsTwelve patients (14.5%) had recurrence during a mean follow-up of 52.6 ± 31.2 months. The serum VEGF level was significantly higher in patients with recurrence than in those without recurrence (P = 0.038). High serum VEGF levels were above 416 pg/mL; this value was chosen based on a receiver operating characteristic analysis. The recurrence-free survival rate in patients with a high serum VEGF level was significantly lower than in those with a low serum VEGF level (P = 0.003). In total, tumors from 26 patients (31.3%) showed overexpression of VEGF using IHC. The recurrence-free survival rate in the IHC-positive group was significantly lower than that in the IHC-negative group (P = 0.044). Multivariate analysis indicated that preoperative serum VEGF levels (P = 0.013) and female gender (P = 0.004) were independent predictors of postoperative recurrence in nonmetastatic CCRCC.ConclusionsPreoperative serum VEGF levels is a useful predictor compared with IHC analysis of VEGF of postoperative recurrence in nonmetastatic CCRCC.
Highlights
Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) plays a major role in angiogenesis
The von Hipple-Lindau (VHL) gene product is involved in the regulation of a transcription factor called hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF), which is a heterodimer of an α and β subunit
We reported that the pretreatment serum level of VEGF correlated with postoperative recurrence in patients with nonmetastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma (CCRCC) [9]
Summary
One of the functions of VEGF is to regulate neovascularization in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (CCRCC). The objective of our study was to examine whether before nephrectomy serum levels of VEGF or expression of VEGF using immunohistochemistry (IHC) could predict postoperative recurrence in nonmetastatic CCRCC. Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (CCRCC) is characterized by inactivation of the von Hipple-Lindau (VHL) pathway caused by somatic mutations or methylation of the VHL gene in the majority of patients. We reported that the pretreatment serum level of VEGF correlated with postoperative recurrence in patients with nonmetastatic CCRCC [9]. We evaluated whether preoperative serum VEGF levels and expression of VEGF, assessed using immunohistochemistry (IHC), could predict postoperative recurrence in patients with nonmetastatic CCRCC. The discovery of reliable biomarkers in CCRCC could have an important impact on diagnosis, prognosis and prediction of therapeutic benefit
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
