Effects of vascular endothelial growth factor on survival rate in resected non small cell lung cancer

Purpose:To study the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its prognostic value in non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) Methods:VEGF expression was determined in 127 patients with NSCLC by an immunohistochemical technique. Survival curves were plotted according to the Kaplan Meier estimates. A uivariate and a multivariate analysis with Cox's model were performed to clarify the association between VEGF and survival rate. Results:Of 127 patients with radically resected NSCLC, the high and low expression of VEGF were 52 and 75 patients, respectively. The high expression ratio of VEGF was 40.9%. By statistical analysis, the VEGF expression was not related to age, sex, tumor type and stage. The prognosis of patients with high VEGF expression was worse than that of the patients with low VEGF expression,especially in stage Ⅰ or female patients. 5 year survival rate of high and low VEGF expression were 61.3% and 81.1% in stage Ⅰ, 40.2% and 73.1% in female patients. But there was no statistical significance (P0.05). Conclusions:VEGF has a reference value for the judgement of prognosis in the NSCLC. It is worthwhile to make an intensive multicenter study to see whether VEGF could be an independent prognostic indicator.