Angiogenic growth factors and endostatin in non‐Hodgkin's lymphoma

Abstract

Summary. A number of clinical studies have demonstrated the prognostic signi®cance of angiogenesis and angiogenic growth factors in solid tumours; however, very little is known about the relevance of these parameters in haematological malignancies. We evaluated circulating levels of angiogenic growth factors and endostatin in 36 nonHodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) patients. Baseline vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels of patients in complete remission (CR) after a median follow-up of 21 months were signi®cantly lower than those of patients with progressive disease (P 0´016). Event-free survival (EFS) rate was signi®cantly higher in patients who had baseline VEGF and basic-®broblast growth factor (b.FGF) levels below the median values of 147 and 19´5 pg/ml (P 0´018 and 0´039 by log-rank test, respectively). Conversely, the levels of endostatin, angiogenin and leptin were not different in CR patients compared to relapsed patients and did not correlate with EFS. Our data suggest that b-FGF and, particularly, VEGF might be considered prognostic factors in NHL staging and management.

In vitro assessment of bone marrow endothelial colonies (CFU-En) in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma patients undergoing peripheral blood stem cell transplantation

“…13,21 As far as the analysis of NHL patients is concerned, high serum VEGF levels were associated with poor outcome 22 and circulating IL-6, VEGF and b-FGF (but not of endostatin, angiogenin, and leptin) might be considered prognostic factors in NHL. 23 In a previous study, we used an in vitro method to detect bone marrow endothelial cells in MM patients; this method was of clinical value, as it gave evidence that an increased number of endothelial colonies was correlated with disease progression and plasma cells proliferation capacity. 16 In this study, the CFU-En number in both untreated and DAV (Dexamethasone, Adryamycin, Vincristine)-treated MM patients was significantly higher than in normal bone marrow, in the melphalan group, and in monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) patients, thus confirming a role for these cells in bone marrow angiogenesis.…”

Elevated serum endostatin levels is associated with favorable outcome in acute myeloid leukemia

“…In chronic lymphocytic leukemia and NHL no difference was found between endostatin plasma levels in complete remission and progressive disease. Morevoer endostatin serum levels did not correlate with disease free survival [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16].…”

Endostatin Concentrations in Healthy Dogs and Dogs with Selected Neoplasms

“…The canine endostatin concentrations quantified in this study were similar to those measured in humans. 25 The cellular mechanisms responsible for the formation of endostatin are not completely understood, and all tissues capable of endostatin synthesis, storage, and release are currently unknown. 3,4,23 However, platelets and abnormal endothelium have been postulated as the major sources of endostatin and could explain the etiology of the increased endostatin concentrations in both tumor-bearing dogs and those with non-neoplastic diseases.…”