Serum vascular endothelial growth factor levels in patients with medullary thyroid carcinoma

Abstract

Background: High levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) have been reported in patients with cancers of different origins. There are no data comparing serum VEGF levels of medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) patients with that of the healthy subjects. Objective: We tried to assess whether serum VEGF concentration in MTC patients is correlated with tumour extension and whether this marker might be used to further refine the selection of candidates for future therapies with receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Methods: Sera from 57 individuals divided into five groups: group I, healthy individuals (nZ14); group II, MTC patients in remission (nZ10); group III, MTC patients with residual disease (nZ12); group IV, MTC patients with loco-regional disease (nZ11) and group V, MTC patients with distant metastases (nZ10) were analysed for serum VEGF and calcitonin (CT) levels. Results: Analysis of serum VEGF did not disclose significant differences among the five groups. Mean serum VEGF level of patients with distant metastases was not significantly different from that observed in healthy individuals (319.4G49.78 vs 313.7G43.13 ng/l). Serum VEGF levels correlated positively with serum CT (rZ0.4891; PZ0.0394) for CT values below 2500 ng/l whereas there was no correlation for CT values above this threshold. Conclusions: Serum VEGF levels in MTC patients are not significantly different from those found in healthy individuals and did not correlate with the extension of disease.

Increased Expression of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor and Its Receptors, VEGFR-1 and VEGFR-2, in Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma

“…Of these patients, 22 had localized disease (TNM I-II) and 16 had metastatic disease (TNM III-IV), but the staining signal of VEGF-A did not differ between them. These findings are consistent with a recent study that did not observe a correlation between serum VEGF levels and the extent of disease in MTC patients (36).…”

Thyroid: Medullary carcinoma

“…p53 mutants have been shown to bind poorly to DNA, thus repressing its tumor-suppressor activity. Regression analyses have linked TP53 genotype mutations to an inherited increase in the risk of sporadic MTC (Joao Bugalho et al, 2008; Barbieri, 2012). …”

The roles and role-players in thyroid cancer angiogenesis

“…They found that the levels of serum VEGF were remarkably higher in patients with distant metastases than those in remission or healthy patients, suggesting that it may be used as a marker of thyroid cancer with distant metastases. Bugallho, et al, however, found that serum concentration of VEGF in MTC patients were not significantly different from those found in healthy subjects and did not correlate with the extension of disease [169]. Narita, et al also reported a decreased VEGF-D serum levels in patients with metastases of differentiated thyroid cancer, regardless of the degree of metastatic spread [170].…”