Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2015 Dec;22 Suppl 3(Suppl 3):S1508-15.
doi: 10.1245/s10434-015-4790-y. Epub 2015 Aug 11.

Serum VEGF-A and Tumor Vessel VEGFR-2 Levels Predict Survival in Caucasian but Not Asian Patients Undergoing Resection for Gastric Adenocarcinoma

Do Joong Park  1   2 , An Na Seo  3 , Changhwan Yoon  1 , Geoffrey Y Ku  4 , Daniel G Coit  1 , Vivian E Strong  1 , Yun-Suhk Suh  5 , Hye Seung Lee  6 , Han-Kwang Yang  5 , Hyung-Ho Kim  2 , Sam S Yoon  7   8
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Serum VEGF-A and Tumor Vessel VEGFR-2 Levels Predict Survival in Caucasian but Not Asian Patients Undergoing Resection for Gastric Adenocarcinoma

Do Joong Park et al. Ann Surg Oncol. 2015 Dec.

Abstract

Background: Clinical trials of agents targeting the vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A) pathway in gastric adenocarcinoma (GA) suggest that these therapies may have varying efficacy in different races.

Methods: VEGF-A in serum and/or VEGF receptor 2 (VEGFR-2) in CD31-positive tumor vessels (VEGFR-2/CD31) were measured in 118 Caucasians and 263 Asians who underwent gastric resection at two institutions and correlated with overall survival (OS). Blood was drawn before any treatment. Patients receiving neoadjuvant treatment were excluded from VEGFR-2 analysis.

Results: Compared with Asians, Caucasians were older (mean age 66-73 vs 59-62 years), had more proximal tumors, and had more advanced TNM stage. In the VEGF-A cohort, Caucasians had a median VEGF-A level that was 95 % higher than that of Asians and a much higher standard deviation (88 ± 6.206 vs 45 ± 76 pg/ml, p < 0.001). The 5-year OS for patients with low versus high VEGF-A levels was 72 versus 43 % in Caucasians (p = 0.001) and 86 versus 77 % in Asians (p = 0.236). In the VEGFR-2 cohort, OS was worse in Caucasians with high VEGFR-2/CD31 levels (49 vs 73 %, p = 0.038), while there was no significant difference in OS in Asians (80 vs 90 %, p = 0.119). On multivariate analyses of significant prognostic factors (excluding treatment factors and margin status), serum VEGF-A and tumor VEGFR-2/CD31 levels were independent predictors of OS only in Caucasians.

Conclusions: In patients with resectable GA, VEGF-A and VEGFR-2/CD31 levels are independent predictors of OS in Caucasians but not in Asians, suggesting varying importance of this pathway in GA progression among different races.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

FIG. 1
FIG. 1
Scatter plot of serum VEGF-A levels in gastric and gastroesophageal junction cancers in Caucasian and Asian patients
FIG. 2
FIG. 2
a OS of Caucasian versus Asian patients. OS of all patients (b), Caucasian patients (c), and Asian patients (d) based on low versus high VEGF-A levels
FIG. 3
FIG. 3
OS of all patents (a), Caucasian patients (b), and Asian patients (c) based on low versus high tumor VEGFR-2/CD31 levels
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Jemal A, Bray F, Center MM, Ferlay J, Ward E, Forman D. Global cancer statistics. CA Cancer J Clin. 2011;61:69–90. - PubMed
    1. Cunningham D, Allum WH, Stenning SP, et al. Perioperative chemotherapy versus surgery alone for resectable gastroesophageal cancer. N Engl J Med. 2006;355:11–20. - PubMed
    1. Macdonald JS, Smalley SR, Benedetti J, et al. Chemoradiotherapy after surgery compared with surgery alone for adenocarcinoma of the stomach or gastroesophageal junction. N Engl J Med. 2001;345:725–30. - PubMed
    1. Bang YJ, Kim YW, Yang HK, et al. Adjuvant capecitabine and oxaliplatin for gastric cancer after D2 gastrectomy (CLASSIC): a phase 3 open-label, randomised controlled trial. Lancet. 2012;379:315–21. - PubMed
    1. Sakuramoto S, Sasako M, Yamaguchi T, et al. Adjuvant chemotherapy for gastric cancer with S-1, an oral fluoropyrimidine. N Engl J Med. 2007;357:1810–20. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

LinkOut - more resources