Open Access

ARTICLE

The prognostic value of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A and its receptor in clinically localized prostate cancer: a prospective evaluation in 100 patients undergoing radical prostatectomy

Kaili Mao¹, Cécile Badoual², Philippe Camparo³, Nicolas Barry Delongchamps¹, Annick Vieillefond⁴, Anh-Tuan Dinh-Xuan⁵, Michaël Peyromaure¹

1 Department of Urology, Cochin Hospital, Paris, France
2 Department of Pathology, European-Georges Pompidou Hospital, Paris, France
3 Department of Pathology, Val de Grace Hospital, Paris, France
4 Department of Pathology, Cochin Hospital, Paris, France
5 Department of Physiology, Cochin Hospital, Paris, France
Address correspondence to Dr. Michaël Peyromaure, Hôpital Cochin, 27 rue du Faubourg Saint-Jacques, 75014 Paris, France

Canadian Journal of Urology 2008, 15(5), 4257-4262.

Abstract

Objectives: To study the prognostic value of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A and its receptor VEGFR-1 in localized prostate cancer.
Methods: One hundred patients undergoing radical prostatectomy (RP) for clinically localized prostate cancer were prospectively included. Plasma levels of VEGF-A were measured preoperatively. After intervention, tissue microarrays were built from the RP specimens. VEGF-A and VEGFR-1 expressions in prostate cancer tissue were determined using immunochemistry. Then the associations between plasma levels of VEGF-A, VEGF-A and VEGFR-1 expressions in prostate cancer tissue, and the outcome of patients were analyzed.
Results: After a median follow-up of 22 months, 14 patients experienced biological recurrence of prostate cancer. There was no correlation between plasma VEGF-A and the risk of recurrence following RP. Moreover, there was no correlation between VEGF-A expression or VEGFR-1 expression in prostate cancer tissue and the risk of recurrence after RP.
Conclusions: Plasma levels of VEGF-A, the expression of VEGF-A and that of VEGFR-1 in prostate cancer tissue did not affect patients outcome following RP. VEGF-A and its receptor VEGFR-1 may have no prognostic value in localized prostate cancer. Further studies with longer follow-up are mandatory to confirm these findings.

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