@Article{ecn.2011.0276,
AUTHOR = {Bozena Dobrzycka, Slawomir J. Terlikowski, Oksana Kowalczuk, Marek Kulikowski, Jacek Niklinski},
TITLE = {Serum levels of VEGF and VEGF-C in patients with endometrial cancer},
JOURNAL = {European Cytokine Network},
VOLUME = {22},
YEAR = {2011},
NUMBER = {1},
PAGES = {45--51},
URL = {http://www.techscience.com/ECN/v22n1/65835},
ISSN = {1952-4005},
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.},
DOI = {10.1684/ecn.2011.0276}
}