Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Maae, Else
• Olsen, Dorte Aalund
• Steffensen, Karina Dahl
• Jakobsen, Erik Hugger
• Brandslund, Ivan
• Sørensen, Flemming Brandt
• Jakobsen, Anders

Titel

Prognostic impact of placenta growth factor and vascular endothelial growth factor A in patients with breast cancer

Ist Teil von

• Breast cancer research and treatment, 2012-05, Vol.133 (1), p.257-265

Ort / Verlag

Boston: Springer US

Erscheinungsjahr

2012

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

SpringerLink (Online service)

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Placenta growth factor (PlGF) and vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A) are angiogenic growth factors interacting competitively with the same receptors. VEGF-A is essential in both normal and pathologic conditions, but the functions of PlGF seem to be restricted to pathologic conditions such as ischemic heart disease, arthritis and tumor growth. Angiogenesis is a complex process with several growth factors involved. Because PlGF modulates VEGF-A responses, we investigated their mutual relationship and impact on breast cancer prognosis. Quantitative PlGF and VEGF-A levels were measured in 229 tumor tissue specimen from primarily operated patients with unilateral breast cancer. Non-malignant breast tissue was also dissected near the tumor and quantitative measurements were available for 211 patients. PlGF and VEGF-A protein levels in homogenized tissue lysates were analyzed using the Luminex system. We found significantly higher median levels of PlGF and VEGF-A in tumor tissue compared to non-malignant tissue (PlGF: 69.8 vs. 31.4 pg/mg, p  < 0.001 and VEGF-A: 1148.2 vs. 163.5 pg/mg, p  < 0.001). PlGF and VEGF-A were correlated in both malignant tissue ( r  = 0.41, p  < 0.001) and in non-malignant tissue ( r  = 0.69, p  < 0.001). The proportion of node positive patients was higher with high PlGF expression (61.4%) than with low PlGF expression (45.6%) in tumor tissue, p  = 0.024. High levels of PlGF and VEGF-A in tumor tissue were associated with significant shorter recurrence-free survival (RFS) in both univariate analysis (PlGF: p  = 0.023; VEGF-A: p  = 0.047) and in multivariate analysis (PlGF: p  = 0.026; VEGF-A: p  = 0.036). Neither PlGF nor VEGF-A expression in non-malignant tissue were predictors for RFS. In conclusion, our results support the mutual relationship between PlGF and VEGF-A and encourage further investigations as prognostic markers in breast cancer patients.