Expression and clinical significance of vascular endothelial growth factor in the serum of lung cancer patients

Objective:To investigate the clinical value of serum level of vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF)in patients with lung carcinoma and to explore the mechanism of VEGF affecting lung carcinoma growth,development and prognosis.Methods:The serum level of VEGF was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.The correlation between serum VEGF levels and blood cell counts was assessed by linear regression analysis.The relationship between the survival time and the serum level of VEGF was analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier method.Results:The serum level of VEGF was significantly higher in patients with lung cancer(1251.6±427.4 ng/L)than that in control group(343.8±171.3 ng/L).There was significant difference in serum level of VEGF between patients with different clinical stage.There was positive correlation between the serum level of VEGF and platelet counts(r=0.523,P0.01).Serum VEGF levels also correlated with leukocyte counts(r=0.511,P0.01).Survival analysis showed that the high serum VEGF was associated with a high risk of death.Conclusion:The serum VEGF may be an assisting diagnostic marker for lung cancer.VEGF plays an important role in lung carcinoma development.The serum level of VEGF may be a reliable predictor for prognosis.VEGF is secreted by tumor cells and subsequently released into blood.It may be the mechanism of VEGF to promote tumor growth and metastasis.