Abstract

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• OBJECTIVES:

  To study the prognostic value of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A and its receptor VEGFR-1 in localized prostate cancer. METHODS: One hundred patients undergoing radical prostatectomy (RP) for clinically localized prostate cancer were prospectively included. Plasma levels of VEGF-A were measured preoperatively. After intervention, tissue microarrays were built from the RP specimens. VEGF-A and VEGFR-1 expressions in prostate cancer tissue were determined using immunochemistry. Then the associations between plasma levels of VEGF-A, VEGF-A and VEGFR-1 expressions in prostate cancer tissue, and the outcome of patients were analyzed.

  RESULTS:

  After a median follow-up of 22 months, 14 patients experienced biological recurrence of prostate cancer. There was no correlation between plasma VEGF-A and the risk of recurrence following RP. Moreover, there was no correlation between VEGF-A expression or VEGFR-1 expression in prostate cancer tissue and the risk of recurrence after RP.

  CONCLUSIONS:

  Plasma levels of VEGF-A, the expression of VEGF-A and that of VEGFR-1 in prostate cancer tissue did not affect patients outcome following RP. VEGF-A and its receptor VEGFR-1 may have no prognostic value in localized prostate cancer. Further studies with longer follow-up are mandatory to confirm these findings.