Alterations in Serum VEGF Levels After Endocrine Therapy in Breast Cancer

Mohammad-Taher Moradi¹, Mehrdad Payandeh^2* & Mohammad Reza Ashrafi-Kooshk ³

¹Fertility and Infertility Research Center, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran
²Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran
³Medical Biology Research Center, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran

Dr. Mehrdad Payandeh, Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran.

Keywords: Breast Cancer; VEGF; Angioge$nesis; Tamoxifen; Herceptin, Letrozole

Abstract

Purpose
Angiogenesis has been suggested as a potential target for anticancer treatment, either by blocking of angiogenic factors production or by blocking of endothelial cell proliferation. The effect of preoperative chemoendocrine therapy is indefinite in the regulation of angiogenic factors, but reports propose that several anticancer drugs have antiangiogenic activity.
Methods
The level of an important angiogenic factor, VEGF, was assessed in 62 breast cancer patients and 14 healthy women using ELISA method.
Results
It was observed that the concentration of serum VEGF in the patients with breast cancer was higher than that in normal subjects (P= 0.0003). Also, results show that treatment with Herceptin (P= 0.88) and Letrozole (P= 0.25) cause a decrease in the levels of VEGF in serum; though the difference between VEGF levels in BC patients treated with Tamoxifen and healthy normal controls was significant (P= 0.03).

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