Prognostic Significance of VEGF and bFGF in Egyptian CLL Patients

Title: Prognostic Significance of VEGF and bFGF in Egyptian CLL Patients

Authors: Aly Fouad NT, Khodair SS, Farweez BA, Fathey HA, Elsalakawy WA

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18535/jmscr/v3i9.16

Abstract

References

Corresponding Author

Abstract

Though an impressive number of prognostic factors has been identified in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), which exhibits a high variability in its clinical presentation and course, many of them have not yet been applied in routine clinical practice. Among these factors are the angiogenic factors, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), previously reported as prognostic markers for disease progression. The objective of the present study was to assess the impact of serum VEGF and bFGF levels at diagnosis in Egyptian CLL patients and their relationship with disease prognostic parameters and patients' outcome, aiming to apply them in routine clinical practice. For this purpose, 45 newly diagnosed CLL patients and 25 healthy controls were recruited. VEGF and bFGF were found to be significantly higher in the CLL group when compared to the control group (P <0.001). Moreover, the serum concentrations of VEGF and bFGF were significantly higher in CLL patients in progressive disease state (Rai stage III and IV) and in patients with positive ZAP70 and CD38 expression. A cutoff point of >320 pg/ml for VEGF and >145 pg/ml for bFGF was able to predict poor prognosis (treatment failure) in CLL patients with prognostic accuracies of 96.7% and 89.10% respectively.

In conclusion: VEGF and bFGF represent powerful prognostic markers in B-CLL, partially because of the simplicity of obtaining their samples and their assays procedure, the reliability of their assessment besides being optimal targets for potential novel therapies in conjunction with classical therapies.

Keywords: VEGF, bFGF, CLL, Prognostic factors, angiogenesis.

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Call For Paper Volume 12 Issue 12 December 2024

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