2İstanbul Üniversitesi Onkoloji Enstitüsü, Temel Onkoloji Anabilim Dalı, İstanbul
3İstanbul Üniversitesi Onkoloji Enstitüsü, Tıbbi Onkoloji Bilim Dalı, İstanbul
4İstanbul Üniversitesi Onkoloji Enstitüsü, Prevantif Onkoloji Anabilim Dalı, İstanbul OBJECTIVES
In most of the tumors, vascular endothelial growth fact o r (VEGF) shows its ang io g enic effects by increasing the level of the Bcl-2 onc o protein. The aim of this study was to inv e st ig ate the serum levels of VEGF and Bcl-2 and the possible association betw een them in stage III and stage IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
METHODS
Twenty eight patients in stage III, 24 patients in stage IV and 25 healthy subjects were enrolled in the study. Serum Bcl-2 and VEGF levels were analyzed by ELISA.
RESULTS
The VEGF (pg/ml) level in stage IV (11 6.7± 151.7) and stage III ( 11 6.2 ± 1 4 0.6) patients was higher than healthy subjects ( 34.5 ± 6.3) (p<0.0001). There was no difference between stage III and stage IV patients with respect to VEGF. The Bcl-2 level was not different between the three groups (p=0.15). The correlation test didn't show any significance between VEGF and Bcl- 2 in the three groups (p=0.109).
CONCLUSION
The VEGF level in stage IV was not higher than stage III patients. In order to show the possible association between VEGF and Bcl-2 in stage IV patients, we need studies including more patients, angiogenic and antiapoptotic cytokins.