Plasma Concentrations of Angiogenesis-related Molecules in Patients with Pancreatic Cancer

• Published in: Japanese journal of clinical oncology Vol. 42; no. 2; pp. 105 - 112
• Main Authors: Sakamoto, Hiroki, Kimura, Hideharu, Sekijima, Masaru, Matsumoto, Kazuko, Arao, Tokuzo, Chikugo, Takaaki, Yamada, Yasuhide, Kitano, Masayuki, Ito, Akihiko, Takeyama, Yoshifumi, Kudo, Masatoshi, Nishio, Kazuto
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Oxford University Press 01.02.2012
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Angiopoietin-2 - blood; Biliary Tract Diseases - blood; Biomarkers, Tumor - blood; Female; Follistatin - blood; Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor - blood; Hepatocyte Growth Factor - blood; Humans; Interleukin-8 - blood; Kaplan-Meier Estimate; Leptin - blood; Liver Diseases - blood; Lymphatic Metastasis; Male; Middle Aged; Neoplasm Staging; Neovascularization, Pathologic - blood; Pancreatic Neoplasms - blood; Pancreatic Neoplasms - mortality; Pancreatic Neoplasms - pathology; Platelet Endothelial Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 - blood; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-sis - blood; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A - blood; pancreatic cancer; plasma; IL-8; angiogenesis
• ISSN: 0368-2811; 1465-3621
• DOI: 10.1093/jjco/hyr178

Background Anti-angiogenic agents are now being clinically evaluated for the treatment of pancreatic cancer and a detailed investigation of the angiogenic profile of pancreatic cancer is needed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the plasma concentrations of angiogenesis-related molecules in patients with pancreatic cancer, compared with those with other diseases. Methods Plasma samples obtained from 45 patients with pancreatic cancer were analyzed and compared with those from 9 patients with pancreatitis, 16 patients with benign hepatobiliary diseases and 58 patients with colorectal cancers. The plasma levels of angiogenesis-related molecules including angiopoietin-2, follistatin, granulocyte-colony stimulating factor, hepatocyte growth factor, interleukin-8, leptin, platelet-derived growth factor beta polypeptide, platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 and vascular endothelial growth factor were determined using an antibody suspension bead arrays system. Results The plasma levels of all the angiogenesis-related molecules were not increased in patients with pancreatic cancer, compared with those with pancreatitis and benign hepatobiliary diseases, whereas the levels of those with colorectal cancer were markedly increased. The plasma interleukin-8 concentration was significantly elevated in patients with distant metastases and was associated with a poor treatment outcome of chemotherapy in patients with pancreatic cancer. Conclusions The plasma levels of angiogenesis-related molecules were not elevated in patients with pancreatic cancer, compared with those with benign diseases or colorectal cancer. The plasma interleukin-8 level may be a novel biomarker for the response to chemotherapy in patients with pancreatic cancer and warrants further prospective study.