OBJECTIVETo investigate the correlation between the ratio of serum vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)/endostatin (ES) and childhood acute leukemia(AL).

METHODSSerum levels of VEGF and ES were measured using ELISA in 35 children with acute AL before and after chemotherapy. The ratio of VEGF/ES was calculated. Thirty healthy children served as the control group.

RESULTSThe serum levels of VEGF (196 ± 66 pg/mL vs 29 ± 10 pg/mL) and ES (35 ± 7 ng/mL vs 19 ± 4 ng/mL) in the AL group before chemotherapy were significantly higher than those in the control group (P<0.01). The ratio of VEGF/ES in the AL group before chemotherapy was significantly higher than that in the control group (6.7 ± 3.0 vs 1.6 ± 0.7; P<0.01). In 20 children with AL who achieved complete remission, the serum levels of VEGF and ES and the VEGF/ES ratio were reduced after chemotherapy (83 ± 35 pg/mL, 27 ± 5 ng/mL, 3.1 ± 1.3, respectively; P<0.01), although the serum levels of VEGF and ES were still higher than those in the control group (P<0.01). The VEGF/ES ratio in CR patients was not significantly different from that in the control group. The serum levels of VEGF (r=0.301, P=0.045) and the VEGF/ES ratio (r=0.411, P=0.015) were positively correlated with the count of blast cells in juvenile bone marrow in 35 children with AL before chemotherapy.

CONCLUSIONSSerum VEGF and ES levels are associated with the development of childhood AL. The VEGF/ES ratio can be used to evaluate the disease progression in children with AL.