Placenta growth factor not vascular endothelial growth factor A or C can predict the early recurrence after radical resection of hepatocellular carcinoma

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the expression of PlGF in tumor tissue and clinical outcomes in HCC patients. Tumor PlGF and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A and VEGF-C mRNA were analyzed. Results demonstrated that patients with PlGF expression levels higher than median tended to have early recurrence compared to patients with PIGF expression lower than median (P = .031). In patients with AJCC stage II-III disease, this difference was even more significant (P = .002). In contrast, VEGF-A and VEGF-C could not predict early recurrence-free survival. Since PlGF expression correlated with early recurrence of HCC, PIGF may be an important prognostic indicator in HCC. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.