Increased mobilisation of circulating endothelial progenitors in von Hippel-Lindau disease and renal cell carcinoma

• Published in: British journal of cancer 2011-06, Vol.105 (1), p.112-117
• Main Authors: Bhatt, R S, Zurita, A J, O'Neill, A, Norden-Zfoni, A, Zhang, L, Wu, H K, Wen, P Y, George, D, Sukhatme, V P, Atkins, M B, Heymach, J V
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 692/53/2421; 692/699/67/589/1588/1351; 692/699/75/593; Biological and medical sciences; Biomarkers, Tumor - analysis; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Cancer Research; Carcinoma, Renal Cell - pathology; Case-Control Studies; Drug Resistance; Endothelial Cells - pathology; Epidemiology; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Mobilization; Humans; Kidney Neoplasms - pathology; Kidneys; Medical sciences; Molecular Diagnostics; Molecular Medicine; Neoplastic Stem Cells - pathology; Nephrology. Urinary tract diseases; Oncology; Survival Rate; Treatment Outcome; Tumors; Tumors of the urinary system; von Hippel-Lindau Disease - pathology
• ISSN: 0007-0920; 1532-1827
• DOI: 10.1038/bjc.2011.186

Background: Circulating endothelial cells (CECs) are a candidate biomarker for monitoring angiogenesis in cancer. Circulating endothelial cell subsets are mobilised by angiogenic mediators. Because of the highly angiogenic phenotype of renal cell carcinoma (RCC), we sought to assess the potential of CECs as a marker of RCC in patients with von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease and those with sporadic RCC. Methods: We performed multicolour flow cytometry to enumerate CECs in patients with RCC, patients with VHL disease with and without RCC, and normal subjects. Two subsets of CECs were evaluated: mature CECs (mCECs) and circulating endothelial progenitors (CEPs). Results: In patients with VHL disease and RCC and those with sporadic RCC ( N =10), CEPs and the CEP:mCEC ratio were higher than in normal subjects ( N =17) (median CEPs: 0.97 vs 0.19 cells μl −1 , respectively, P