Diagnostic value of serum VEGF level for advanced cervical cancer and its relationship with therapeutic efficacy of concurrent chemoradiotherapy

Objective: To investigate the diagnostic value of serum vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) level for cervical cancer and its relationship with the therapeutic efficacy of concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT). Methods: Eighty patients with a pathologically confirmed diagnosis of advanced cervical squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC), 20 patients with chronic cervicitis, and 20 healthy persons (as controls) were enrolled in the study. The CSCC patients received CCRT. All the subjects had their baseline serum VEGF levels measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA); also, the CSCC patients had their serum VEGF levels measured by ELISA at 3 months after CCRT. The relationship between the serum VEGF levels and therapeutic efficacy of CCRT was analyzed. Results: The CSCC patients had a significantly higher baseline serum VEGF level than the chronic cervicitis patients and controls (237.36 (#mu#g/L vs. 142.36 #mu#g/L, t = 4.03, P = 0.000). The serum VEGF level was closely related to tumor stage, tumor differentiation, and lymph node metastasis. A serum VEGF level above 197.52 #mu#g/L was the optimal cut point for diagnosing cervical cancer, with a sensitivity of 0.88 and a specificity of 0.72. The serum VEGF levels before and after CCRT showed a close relationship with the therapeutic efficacy. The patients achieving a complete remission had a significantly greater change in serum VEGF level than those with progression; the patients with high baseline serum VEGF levels had a significantly higher tumor progression or death rate than those with low baseline serum VEGF levels. Conclusions: Serum VEGF level has poor diagnostic value for cervical cancer, though it is closely related to the tumor stage, tumor differentiation, and lymph node metastasis of cervical cancer. However, serum VEGF level has some predictive value for the therapeutic efficacy of CCRT in patients with cervical cancer. (authors)