Clinical Research
Copyright ©2005 Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Feb 28, 2005; 11(8): 1167-1171
Published online Feb 28, 2005. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v11.i8.1167
Clinical significance of serum levels of vascular endothelial growth factor and its receptor in biliary disease and carcinoma
Munechika Enjoji, Makoto Nakamuta, Koji Yamaguchi, Satoshi Ohta, Kazuhiro Kotoh, Marie Fukushima, Masami Kuniyoshi, Tomomi Yamada, Masao Tanaka, Hajime Nawata
Munechika Enjoji, Makoto Nakamuta, Satoshi Ohta, Kazuhiro Kotoh, Marie Fukushima, Masami Kuniyoshi, Hajime Nawata, Department of Medicine and Bioregulatory Science, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
Koji Yamaguchi, Masao Tanaka, Department of Surgery and Oncology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
Tomomi Yamada, Medical Information Science, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
Author contributions: All authors contributed equally to the work.
Correspondence to: Munechika Enjoji, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Medicine and Bioregulatory Science, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan. enjoji@intmed3.med.kyushu-u.ac.jp
Telephone: +81-92-642-5282 Fax: +81-92-642-5287
Received: July 17, 2004
Revised: July 19, 2004
Accepted: August 30, 2004
Published online: February 28, 2005
Abstract

AIM: To investigate the clinical significance of serum vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and soluble VEGF receptor-1 (VEGFR1/Flt-1) (sVEGFR1) levels in biliary diseases.

METHODS: We analyzed the serum levels of these proteins in patients with acute cholangitis (group 1), biliary malignancies (group 2), and primary biliary cirrhosis or primary sclerosing cholangitis (group 3), and in healthy donors (group 4). The influence of inflammation was also analyzed. Serum VEGF levels were expressed as VEGF per platelet (VEGF/PLT, pg/106) in order to exclude the influence of platelet counts.

RESULTS: sVEGFR1 levels were significantly higher in groups 1 and 2 than in the control group, but did not correlate with inflammatory markers. VEGF/PLT levels were generally higher in patients with active inflammation than in those with carcinoma. C-reactive protein strongly correlated with the levels of serum VEGF independently of platelet and leukocyte counts, even in cancer patients. In cancer patients, VEGF/PLT and sVEGFR1 levels might be indicators for evaluating the effect of medical treatment or the disease progression.

CONCLUSION: Serum VEGF and VEGFR1 might be useful markers for gauging the clinical effect of various treatments on patients.

Keywords: VEGF; VEGFR1; Cholangiocarcinoma; Cholangitis