Abstract
Purpose
To evaluate the prognosis value of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and platelet-derived endothelial cell growth factor (PD-ECGF) in alpha-fetoprotein (AFP)-negative hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients after curative resection.
Methods
Tumor tissue microarrays (TMAs) were used to detect the expressions of VEGF and PD-ECGF in consecutive 162 AFP-negative HCC patients undergoing curative resection between 1997 and 2000 in our institute. Clinicopathologic data for these patients were evaluated. The prognostic significance was assessed using Kaplan–Meier survival estimates and log-rank tests. Multivariate study with Cox’s proportional hazard model was used to evaluate the prognosis-related aspects.
Results
The positive rates of VEGF and PD-ECGF in tumor tissues were 59.9% (97/162) and 62.3% (101/162), respectively. Univariate analysis showed that VEGF and PD-ECGF were prognostic factors for relapse-free survival (P = 0.034 and P = 0.033, respectively). Multivariate analyses demonstrated that the co-index (VEGF/PD-ECGF) was an independent prognostic factor for overall survival and relapse-free survival (P = 0.002 and P = 0.000, respectively).
Conclusion
The co-index of VEGF and PD-ECGF is a promising independent predictor for recurrence and survival of AFP-negative HCC patients after curative resection.
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Abbreviations
- HCC:
-
Hepatocellular carcinoma
- AFP:
-
Alpha-fetoprotein
- HBV:
-
Hepatitis B virus
- HCV-Ab:
-
Hepatitis C virus antibody
- VEGF:
-
Vascular endothelial growth factor
- PD-ECGF:
-
Platelet-derived endothelial cell growth factor
- TMAs:
-
Tissue microarrays
- TNM:
-
Tumor-node metastasis
- TACE:
-
Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization
- OS:
-
Overall survival
- RFS:
-
Relapse-free survival
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Acknowledgments
This study was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 30873039), Shanghai Science and Technology Development Funds (No. 07JC14010, 06QA14012, 07SP07003) and National Hi-Tech Research and Development Program of China (No.2007AA02Z479).
Conflict of interest statement
This is an original work by all the authors and no previous presentations, reports or publications contain any material that appears in the article. We certify that no actual or potential conflict of interest in relation to this article exists.
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J. Hu, Y. Xu and Z.-Z. Shen have contributed equally to this work.
An erratum to this article can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00432-009-0663-8
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Hu, J., Xu, Y., Shen, ZZ. et al. High expressions of vascular endothelial growth factor and platelet-derived endothelial cell growth factor predict poor prognosis in alpha-fetoprotein-negative hepatocellular carcinoma patients after curative resection. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol 135, 1359–1367 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-009-0577-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-009-0577-5