Clinical significance of the level change of serum WAVE1 and vascular endothelial growth factor C before and after chemotherapy in patients with advanced non-small lung cancer

Objective To evaluate the level changes of serum WASP-family verprolin homologous protein-1 (WAVE1) and vascular endothelial growth factor-C (VEGF-C) and their clinical significance in patients with advanced non-small lung cancer (NSCLC) before and after chemotherapy. Methods Serum WAVE1 and VEGF-C were measured in 43 patients with advanced NSCLC by ELISA, and the results were compared with 43 healthy volunteers. Results The levels of serum WAVE1 and VEGF-C before chemotherapy in patients group were (0.573±0.082) ng/ml and (947.3±125.4) pg/ml respectively, while in healthy volunteers group, they were (0.256±0.064) ng/ml and (425.5±110.1) pg/ml respectively, which suggested that before chemotherapy the levels of serum WAVE1 and VEGF-C in NSCLC group were significantly higher than those of in the control(P 0.05). The serum WAVE1 and VEGF-C levels of the effective treatment group was (0.290±0.037) ng/ml and (596.1±127.5) pg/ml after chemotherapy respectively, which decreased obviously compared with the group before chemotherapy which levels were (0.517±0.051) ng/ml and (964.6±100.3) pg/ml (both P 0.05). Furthermore, statistically significant relationship was found between the serum WAVE1 and the VEGF-C levels (r=0.331, r=0.540, both P<0.05). Conclusion Serum WAVE1 and VEGF-C may be used as indicators for prediction of the efficacy of chemotherapy in patients with advanced NSCLC. Key words: Carcinoma, non-small cell lung; Chemotherapy; WASP-family verprolin homologous protein-1 gene; Vascular endothelial growth factor-C gene