Titre du document / Document title

Chemotherapy and angiogenesis in advanced cancer : Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) decline as predictor of disease control during taxol therapy in metastatic breast cancer

Auteur(s) / Author(s)

LISSONI P. ⁽¹⁾ ; FUGAMALLI E. ⁽¹⁾ ; MALUGANI F. ⁽¹⁾ ; ARDIZZOIA A. ⁽¹⁾ ; SECONDINO S. ⁽¹⁾ ; TANCINI G. ⁽¹⁾ ; GARDANI G. S. ⁽¹⁾ ;

Affiliation(s) du ou des auteurs / Author(s) Affiliation(s)

⁽¹⁾ Division of Radiation Oncology, S. Gerardo Hospital, Monza (MI), ITALIE

Résumé / Abstract

Angiogenesis is essential for tumor growth. Since vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) represents the main angiogenic factor, the control of VEGF secretion could constitute the most important mechanism to achieve the inhibition of angiogenesis-related processes. High blood concentrations have been proven to correlate with poor prognosis in advanced cancer. In experimental conditions, chemotherapeutic agents such as taxol appeared to inhibit VEGF-induced angiogenesis, while at present there are no data about the influence of chemotherapy on VEGF secretion in cancer patients. This preliminary study was performed to evaluate the effect of taxol therapy on VEGF secretion in advanced cancer patients in relation to the clinical response. The study included 14 patients with metastatic breast cancer who were treated with taxol monochemotherapy (175 mg/m² i.v. every 21 days for three cycles), Serum levels of VEGF were measured by ELISA in blood samples collected before therapy and at 21-day intervals. The clinical response consisted of partial response (PR) in three and stable disease (SD) in six patients, whereas the other five patients had progressive disease (PD). Abnormally high pre-treatment levels of VEGF were seen in 8/14 patients. VEGF mean values significantly decreased during taxol therapy in patients with PR or SD, whereas no decline was observed in patients with PD. Moreover, the percent of normalization or decline greater than 50% in VEGF levels was significantly higher in patients with PR or SD than in those with PD (5/9 vs. 0/5). This preliminary study would suggest that the efficacy of taxol therapy in metastatic breast cancer - at least in terms of disease stabilization - may be associated with a decrease in VEGF blood levels followed by potential inhibition of cancer-related neovascularization.

Revue / Journal Title

The International journal of biological markers   ISSN 0393-6155 

Source / Source

Congrès
Specialist workshop on blood tumor markers N^o5, Nottingham , ROYAUME-UNI (21/09/1999)
2000, vol. 15, n^o 4, pp. 324-356 (10 ref.), pp. 308-311

Langue / Language

Anglais

Editeur / Publisher

Wichtig, Milano, ITALIE  (1986) (Revue)

Mots-clés anglais / English Keywords

Malignant tumor ; Mammary gland ; Advanced stage ; Vascular endothelium growth factor ; Metastasis ; Exploration ; Paclitaxel ; Antimitotic ; Antineoplastic agent ; Angiogenesis ; Biological indicator ; Treatment efficiency ; Chemotherapy ; Treatment ; Human ; Taxane derivatives ; Mammary gland diseases ; Clinical biology ;

Mots-clés français / French Keywords

Tumeur maligne ; Glande mammaire ; Stade avancé ; Facteur croissance endothélium vasculaire ; Métastase ; Exploration ; Paclitaxel ; Antimitotique ; Anticancéreux ; Angiogenèse ; Indicateur biologique ; Efficacité traitement ; Chimiothérapie ; Traitement ; Homme ; Taxane dérivé ; Glande mammaire pathologie ; Biologie clinique ;

Mots-clés espagnols / Spanish Keywords

Tumor maligno ; Glándula mamaria ; Estadio avanzado ; Factor crecimiento endotelio vascular ; Metástasis ; Exploración ; Paclitaxel ; Antimitótico ; Anticanceroso ; Angiogénesis ; Indicador biológico ; Eficacia tratamiento ; Quimioterapia ; Tratamiento ; Hombre ; Taxane derivado ; Glándula mamaria patología ; Biología clínica ;

Localisation / Location

INIST-CNRS, Cote INIST : 21868, 35400009402034.0050