Role of vascular endothelial growth factor C combined with adenosine deaminuse in differential diagnosis of pleural effusion

Objective To analyze the expressions of vascular endothelial growth factor C (VEGF-C) and adenosine deaminase(ADA)in different kinds of pleural effusions, and approach the role of combination diagnosis in the differential diagnosis of pleural effusions. Methods The concentrations of VEGF-C and ADA were detected in pleural effusion samples from 143 clinical confirmed patients (40 cases of malignant pleural effusion, 45 cases of tuberculous pleural effusion, 58 cases of inflammatory and other pleural effusion) in order to assess their sensitivity, specificity, accuracy. Moreover, the value of VEGF-C/ADA was calculated and utilized to distinguish different kinds of pleural effusions. ResultsVEGF-C concentration in malignant pleural effusion was higher than that in tuberculous pleural effusion and inflammatory and other pleural effusion,(286.32±102.65) ng/L vs (133.46±39.83) ng/L,(140.14± 44.62) ng/L, P <0.05. ADA concentration in tuberculous pleural effusion was higher than that in malignant pleural effusion and inflammatory and other pleural effusion, (78.6±36.3) IU/L vs (23.4± 11.2) IU/L, (26.1±10.5) IU/L, P <0.05. VEGF-C/ADA≥8 might indicate malignant pleural effusion (sensitivity 87.5%, specificity 81.4%), and VEGF-C/ADA≤3 probably indicated tuberculous pleural effusion(sensitivity 84.4%, specificity 86.4%). Conclusions The concentration ratio of VEGF-C and ADA is of clinical diagnosis value in differential diagnosis of pleural effusions. Key words: Pleural Effusion; Diagnosis; Vascular endothelial growth factor C; Adenosine deaminase