THE SIGNIFICANCE OF LEVELS OF VASCULAR ENDOTHELIAL GROWTH FACTOR IN SERUM AND PLEURAL EFFUSION IN DIFFERENTIATING TUBERCULOSIS AND MALIGNANT PLEURAL EFFUSIONS

Objective To investigate the significance of vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF)in differentiating benign and malignant pleural disease.Methods VEGF was detected using ELISA method in serum and pleural effusion of 26 cases of malignant pleural effusions and 18 cases of tuberculosis pleural effusion.Results VEGF levels in the serum and pleural effusion of malignant pleural effusion patients were (787.3±82.9) pg/ml and (3 390.9±468.5) pg/ml,significantly higher than those of tuberculosis patients with pleural effusion (P0.01).The difference of rates of serum and pleural effusion in malignant pleural effusion and tuberculosis pleural effusion patients is significant (P0.05).The peculiarity and sensitivity of VEGF in serum and malignant pleural effusion were 94.4% and 65.3%.Conclusion The detection of VEGF,as a clinical item,may play some role in differentiating benign and malignant pleural diseases.