Open Access

ARTICLE

Serum levels of VEGF and VEGF-C in patients with endometrial cancer

Bozena Dobrzycka¹, Slawomir J. Terlikowski¹, Oksana Kowalczuk², Marek Kulikowski³, Jacek Niklinski²

1 Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Obstetrics/Gynecological Care, Medical University of Bialystok
2 Department of Clinical Molecular Biology, Medical University of Bialystok
3 Department of Obstetrics, Medical University of Bialystok, Poland

* Corresponding Author: S.J. Terlikowski,

European Cytokine Network 2011, 22(1), 45-51. https://doi.org/10.1684/ecn.2011.0276

Accepted 12 October 2010;

Abstract

Endometrial cancer (EC) is the most common type of uterine cancer. A dualistic model of endometrial tumorigenesis serves as a useful way of categorizing these cancers in terms of both etiology and clinical behavior. There are two types of EC: type I and type II. Type I is so-called estrogen-dependent, and appears mostly in preand perimenopausal women, it is well differentiated and therefore has a better prognosis. Type II EC is estrogenindependent, diagnosed mostly in postmenopausal women, thin and fertile women, or in women with normal menstrual cycles. It is aggressive and has a worse prognosis than type I. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the pretreatment serum levels of VEGF and VEGF-C and the outcome of EC patients. A total of 98 patients treated between 1999 and 2003 were included in this study. Circulating VEGF and VEGF-C levels were determined using ELISA kits. VEGF levels among the 76 patients with type I, and the 22 patients with type II EC were significantly higher than those found in the healthy control subjects (p < 0.001). The differences in mean values of VEGF-C were highly significant in both types of tumor examined compared to the control (p < 0.001). The results demonstrate that serum VEGF concentration correlated significantly with advanced FIGO stage in type II EC (p < 0.001). The preoperative VEGF-C level correlated with advancing tumor stages in type I EC (p < 0.05). An elevated preoperative VEGF-C was an independent risk factor for disease-specific survival in patients with type II tumors. Thus, in type II EC patients with high preoperative levels of VEGF-C, pelvic and para-aortic lymphadenectomy should be performed. However, the value of longitudinal measurements of the markers used is yet to be determined.

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