Prognostic Value of Carcinoembryonic Antigen and Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Tumor Tissue Content in Colorectal Cancer

Abstract

Aim: This study was designed to assess the prognostic significance of the combined measurement of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) tissue content with respect to relapse-free and overall survival of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). Methods: Quantitative evaluation of VEGF and CEA content was performed on protein extracts obtained from tissue biopsies from 69 CRC patients and 15 healthy donors. Results: VEGF significantly correlated with CEA content of either tumor tissues (rho = 0.55, p < 0.0001) or corresponding normal mucosa (rho = 0.34, p < 0.005). General regression analyses demonstrated that CEA was an independent predictor of VEGF tissue content either in CRC biopsies (regression coefficient = 0.57, p < 0.0001) or normal mucosa (regression coefficient = 0.25, p < 0.05). Cox proportional hazards survival analysis showed that tumor tissue content of both VEGF and CEA had an independent prognostic value in predicting both relapse-free (hazards ratio = 5.98, p = 0.002) and overall (hazards ratio = 4.73, p = 0.007) survival, irrespective of Dukes’ stage. Kaplan-Meier analysis demonstrated that an elevated tumor content of both CEA and VEGF had a negative prognostic value in respect to either relapse-free (log-rank test: 10.4, p = 0.001) or overall survival (log-rank test: 7.33, p = 0.007). Conclusion: Tumor tissue VEGF and CEA content determination might add useful prognostic information in the management of patients with CRC.

Prognostic and predictive value of VEGF, sVEGFR-2 and CEA in mCRC studies comparing cediranib, bevacizumab and chemotherapy

“…VEGF levels have been shown to correlate with CEA levels in tumour tissue and the surrounding mucosa. However, in a small study (69 patients) of treatment-naive CRC patients, Ferroni et al (2006) measured CEA in protein extracts from tumours obtained during surgery and found that CEA and VEGF levels had an independent prognostic value in predicting relapse-free survival and OS, independent of Duke's stage.…”

Prognostic value of glycated hemoglobin in colorectal cancer

“…Other proposed explanations for the increased risk include obesity-related insulin resistance (IR)[11] and cytokine production[12], which may directly influence CRC growth not only through promotion of angiogenesis[13,14], but also by inducing host inflammatory response[13,15] or decreasing natural killer (NK) lymphocyte cytotoxic activity and, thus, the immunological defense against cancer[16]. …”

Significance of CEA and VEGF as Diagnostic Markers of Colorectal Cancer in Lebanese Patients

“…Still other studies show that the prognostic role of CEA in colorectal cancer may be enhanced with simultaneous use of other markers [18–20]. A recent study by Ferroni and coworkers showed that the use of tissue CEA and VEGF levels is potentially useful for the prognosis of colorectal cancer patients [21]. …”