The role of vascular endothelial growth factor as a prognostic and clinicopathological marker in osteosarcoma: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Background In recent years, numerous investigations have been conducted to determine the clinical significance and critical functions of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in various malignant cancers. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to comprehensively evaluate the prognostic and clinicopathological value of VEGF in patients with osteosarcoma. Methods We performed a systematic literature retrieval of available databases. Odds ratios (ORs) or standard mean difference (SMD) for clinicopathological parameters, hazard ratios (HRs) for overall survival and disease-free survival were calculated to assess the correlation between VEGF expression and prognosis in patients with osteosarcoma. Results A total of 22 studies with 1144 patients were included in our study. Pooled analyses showed that VEGF overexpression predicted worse overall survival (HR, 2.42; 95% CI, 1.87–3.11, p < 0.001) and disease-free survival (HR, 2.604; 95% CI, 1.698–3.995, p < 0.001), respectively. Furthermore, investigation regarding osteosarcoma clinicopathologic characteristics suggested that high VEGF expression was significantly associated with metastasis (OR, 4.39; 95% CI, 2.77–6.95; p < 0.001), clinical stage (OR, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.62–0.87; p < 0.001), and microvessel density (SMD, 3.33, 95% CI,1.57–5.10, p < 0.001), but not associated with tumor location, gender, age, local recurrence, and chemotherapy response. Conclusion Our meta-analysis findings suggest that elevated VEGF expression may be a predictive biomarker for poor prognosis and adverse clinicopathological characteristics in patients with osteosarcoma.

Preparation of total triterpenoids from Antrodia cinnamomea fermentation mycelium and their in vitro inhibitory effects on hepatocellular carcinoma

“…VEGF can increase the permeability of blood vessels, which is beneficial for tumor cells entering blood vessels and flowing to all parts of the body (Zhou et al, 2021). It is found that, the elevated VEGF expression may be a predictive biomarker for poor prognosis and adverse clinicopathological characteristics in patients with osteosarcoma (Zhang et al, 2021). Results of this study showed that, the baicalein could down-regulate the VEGF protein expression in HepG2 cells.…”

Exploration in the Mechanism of Ginsenoside Rg5 for the Treatment of Osteosarcoma by Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking

“…The protein encoded by VEGFA can induce migration and invasion of vascular endothelial cells, which is crucial for tumor angiogenesis and metastasis 23 . High VEGFA expression indicates unfavorable prognosis in osteosarcoma patients 24 . Vimalraj et al 25 .…”

“…23 High VEGFA expression indicates unfavorable prognosis in osteosarcoma patients. 24 Vimalraj et al 25 reported that melatonin suppressed osteosarcoma angiogenesis via targeting VEGFA. Another study showed that MicroRNA-134 attenuated osteosarcoma angiogenesis and proliferation via inhibiting the VEGFA/VEGFR1 signaling pathway.…”

N6-methyladenosine reader YTHDF3 contributes to the aerobic glycolysis of osteosarcoma through stabilizing PGK1 stability

“…Currently, the traditional treatments still have limited success in clinical treatment. Herein, the question that which therapeutic strategy is more suit for osteosarcoma is worthy of further discussion, which may reveal new directions for osteosarcoma clinical treatment (Zhang et al,, 2021a).…”