Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor in the Circulation in Cancer Patients May Not Be a Relevant Biomarker
- Niers Tatjana M. H.
- Richel Dick J.
- Meijers Joost C. M.
- Schlingemann Reinier O.
DOIAbstract
. We hypothesize that “true” circulating (c)VEGF levels in most cancer patients are low and unrelated to cancer load or tumour angiogenesis. platelets, p = 0.001). In contrast, cVEGF levels in RCC patients were elevated (PECT plasma: 64 pg/ml vs. 21 pg/ml, RCC vs. non-RCC, p<0.0001), and not related to platelet VEGF concentration.Our findings suggest that “true” freely cVEGF levels are not elevated in the majority of cancer patients. Previously reported elevated plasma VEGF levels in cancer appear to be due to artificial release from activated platelets, which in cancer have an increased VEGF content, during the blood harvest procedure. Only in patients with RCC, which is characterized by excessive VEGF production due to a specific genetic ...
Add to ORKG