VEGF level and significance of tuberculous pleurisy and malignant pleurisy

Objective To analyse the difference and explore the diagnosis significance of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in serum and pleural fluid of patients with tuberculous pleurisy and malignant pleurisy by measuring the concentrations of VEGF in serum and pleural fluid.Methods 10 ml pleural fluid and 5 ml blood as specimen from patients with tuberculous pleurisy and malignant pleurisy (each 30 cases) were collected on the same day.The VEGF concentrations of serum and pleural fluid were measured by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.The difference and correlation were analysed.Results In tuberculous pleurisy group,the VEGF levels were (45.33 ± 18.33) ng/L in serum and (62.73± 24.65) ng/L in pleural fluid.In malignant pleurisy group,the VEGF levels were (66.00±29.83) ng/L in serum and (95.54± 42.11) ng/L in pleural fluid.The VEGF levels of serum and pleural fluid in malignant pleurisy group were higher than those in tuberculous pleurisy group (t =3.9,5.2,respectively,all P ＜0.05).VEGF levels in serum and pleural fluid in the two groups showed positive correlation (r =0.53,0.38,respectively,all P ＜0.05).Conclusions The levels of VEGF in serum and pleural fluid are different between patients with tuberculous pleurisy and patients with malignant pleurisy.The serum and pleural fluid VEGF levels in patients with malignant pleurisy are higher than those in patients with tuberculous pleurisy.VEGF level of pleural fluid is higher than that of serum in the two groups.Detection of VEGF in serum and pleural fluid has a certain value in diagnosis and differential diagnosis of patients with tuberculous pleurisy and malignant pleurisy. Key words: Vascular endothelial growth factor; Pleural effusion; Tuberculosis; Malignant tumor