Serum Nitric Oxide as a Predictive Biomarker for Bevacizumab in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Patients.

Abstract

Reportedly, hypertension tends to be associated with response to bevacizumab therapy, because bevacizumab suppresses vascular nitric oxide production. In this study we examined the predictive value of nitric oxide in bevacizumab-treated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Fifteen patients with advanced or recurrent NSCLC treated with bevacizumab-based regimens were evaluated retrospectively. Serum NOx (NO2-/NO3-) was assayed by the Griess method. Serum nitric oxide levels were decreased after two courses of bevacizumab treatment in our responder group (p=0.02). According to the change in nitric oxide levels after the second course of treatment, median progression-free survival was 11.0 months in the group with decreased serum nitric oxide and 7.6 months in the group with increased serum nitric oxide (p=0.08). Serum nitric oxide levels could be a predictive biomarker for response to bevacizumab in NSCLC patients.