Journal
BRITISH JOURNAL OF CANCER
Volume 101, Issue 8, Pages 1417-1424Publisher
NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP
DOI: 10.1038/sj.bjc.6605298
Keywords
renal-cell carcinoma; VHL; VEGF
Categories
Funding
- Ligue Departementale contre le Cancer
- COmite de la REcherche Clinique du CHU de Rennes
- Institut National du Cancer
Ask authors/readers for more resources
BACKGROUND: The von Hippel-Lindau gene (VHL) alteration, a common event in sporadic clear-cell renal-cell carcinoma (CCRCC), leads to highly vascularised tumours. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is the major factor involved in angiogenesis, but the prognostic significance of both VHL inactivation and VEGF expression remain controversial. The aims of this study were to analyse the relationship between VHL genetic and epigenetic alterations, VHL expression and VEGF tumour or plasma expression, and to analyse their respective prognostic value in patients with CCRCC. METHODS: A total of 102 patients with CCRCC were prospectively analysed. Alterations in VHL were determined by sequencing, Multiplex Ligation-dependent Probe Amplification (MLPA) and methylation-specific MLPA. Expression of pVHL and VEGF was determined by immunohistochemistry. Plasma VEGF was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS: VHL mutation, deletion and promoter methylation were identified in 70, 76 and 14 cases, respectively. Overall, at least one VHL-gene alteration occurred in 91 cases (89.2%). Both VEGF tumour and plasma expression appeared to be decreased in case of VHL alteration. Median progression-free survival and CCRCC-specific survival were significantly reduced in patients with wild-type VHL or altered VHL and high VEGF expression, which, therefore, represent two markers of tumour aggressiveness in CCRCC. CONCLUSION: Stratifying CCRCCs according to VHL and VEGF status may help tailor therapeutic strategy. British Journal of Cancer (2009) 101, 1417-1424. doi: 10.1038/sj.bjc.6605298 www.bjcancer.com Published online 15 September 2009 (C) 2009 Cancer Research UK
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available