Immunohistochemical expression of VEGF predicts response to platinum based chemotherapy in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer

• Published in: Angiogenesis (London) 2011-05, Vol.14 (2), p.155-161
• Main Authors: Siddiqui, G. K., Maclean, A. B., Elmasry, K., Wong te Fong, A., Morris, R. W., Rashid, M., Begent, R. H. J., Boxer, G. M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Biological and medical sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Blood and lymphatic vessels; Cancer Research; Carcinoma, Ovarian Epithelial; Cardiology; Cardiology. Vascular system; Cell Biology; Demography; Diseases of the peripheral vessels. Diseases of the vena cava. Miscellaneous; Female; General and cellular metabolism. Vitamins; Humans; Immunohistochemistry; Kaplan-Meier Estimate; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial - drug therapy; Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial - metabolism; Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial - pathology; Oncology; Ophthalmology; Original Paper; Ovarian cancer; Ovarian Neoplasms - drug therapy; Ovarian Neoplasms - metabolism; Ovarian Neoplasms - pathology; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Platinum - therapeutic use; Treatment Outcome; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A - metabolism; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0969-6970; 1573-7209
• DOI: 10.1007/s10456-010-9199-4

Purpose For patients with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) cytoreduction, with a combination of taxane and platinum, is the standard of care. Despite this, approximately 50% of patients with advanced disease will relapse and moreover 15–20% of cases of EOC are resistant to platinum based chemotherapy. Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF), an angiogenic factor, is associated with poor prognosis. This study was undertaken to examine whether there is an association between VEGF-A expression in the tumour of EOC patients and their response to platinum based chemotherapy. Methods The study cohort consisted of 66 patients with advanced stage EOC (FIGO III-IV). Ovarian cancer tissue was analysed for VEGF-A expression immunohistochemically. Protein expression was measured and correlated, with platinum sensitivity and overall patient survival. Results Median age of patients was 53 years, 45 patients had platinum sensitive disease (68%), the remaining patients being platinum resistant (32%). Of the platinum resistant group, 18 (86%) patients had high VEGF score compared to only 1 (2%) with high VEGF score in the platinum sensitive group. Median survival was 11 months in the patient group with high VEGF score versus 32 months in that cohort with low VEGF score. VEGF expression was significantly inversely correlated with overall survival ( P