1.Clinical Significance of Major Angiogenesis-Related Effectors in Patients with Metastatic Breast Cancer Treated with Trastuzumab-Based Regimens
Helen P. KOUREA ; Foteinos-Ioannis DIMITRAKOPOULOS ; Georgia-Angeliki KOLIOU ; Anna BATISTATOU ; Kyriaki PAPADOPOULOU ; Mattheos BOBOS ; Anthoula ASIMAKI-VLACHOPOULOU ; Sofia CHRISAFI ; Kitty PAVLAKIS ; Kyriakos CHATZOPOULOS ; Eleni GALANI ; George PENTHEROUDAKIS ; Dimitrios PECTASIDES ; Dimitrios BAFALOUKOS ; Eleni RES ; Pavlos PAPAKOSTAS ; Angelos KOUTRAS ; Vassiliki KOTOULA ; George FOUNTZILAS
Cancer Research and Treatment 2022;54(4):1053-1064
Purpose:
Angiogenesis is a crucial phenomenon in the development and progression of breast cancer (BC), but the clinical significance of angiogenesis-related proteins in metastatic BC remains unknown. This study investigates the prognostic value of vascular endothelial growth factor receptors 1, 2, 3 (VEGFR1, VEGFR2, VEGFR3) as well as vascular endothelial growth factors A and C (VEGFA and VEGFC) in metastatic BC patients treated with trastuzumab-based regimens.
Materials and Methods:
Two hundred female patients were included. Protein and mRNA expression of the studied angiogenesis-related factors were evaluated by immunohistochemistry and quantitative polymerase chain reaction, respectively.
Results:
High expression of VEGFA, VEGFC, VEGFR1, VEGFR2, and VEGFR3 in the tumor cells was observed in 43.5%, 24.2%, 36%, 29.5%, and 43%, respectively. Stromal elements expressed high levels of VEGFA, VEGFC, VEGFR1, VEGFR2, and VEGFR3 in 78.9%, 93.3%, 90.7%, 90.2%, and 74.8% of tumors with available data. High tumor cell expression of VEGFR1 was a favorable prognosticator for survival among patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)–positive tumors (hazard ratio [HR], 0.55; p=0.013). A trend towards longer progression-free survival was detected univariately for patients with HER2-negative tumors and high expression of VEGFR2 (HR, 0.60; p=0.059).
Conclusion
VEGFR1 and VEGFR2 seem to have significant prognostic value in BC patients with metastatic disease treated with trastuzumab-based regimens.
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