Objective: To evaluate if serum and ascites VEGF-C concentration could be used as prognostic markers in ovarian cancer.
Materials and methods: Serum and ascites VEGF-C were measured in 118 patients with ovarian cancer and 24 patients with benign gynaecological disease. ELISA method was employed to evaluate VEGF-C concentration.
Results: Serum and ascites in ovarian cancer patients were higher than those in benign gynaecological disease (P < 0.0001). Serum VEGF-C and ascites VEGF-C were both correlated with FIGO stage, tumor grade, and lymph node metastasis (P < 0.05). Univariate analysis revealed that FIGO stage (P < 0.0001), tumor grade (P < 0.0001), lymph node metastasis (P < 0.0001), serum VEGF-C concentration (P = 0.0001), and ascites VEGF-C concentration (P < 0.0001) were significantly correlated with overall survival. Including these variables in a multivariate analysis revealed that VEGF-C concentrations in serum and ascites were independent predictors of shorter overall survival.
Conclusion: Elevated VEGF-C concentrations in serum and ascites can be seen as the novel, widely available independent predictors of shorter overall survival in ovarian cancer.
Keywords: Biomarker; lymphangiogenesis; metastasis; tumor; vascular endothelial growth factor.