Urinary levels of vascular endothelial growth factor in patients with prostate cancer as a predictor of disease progression.

BACKGROUND: The objectives of this study were to investigate the association between urinary levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and the progression of prostate cancer, and to evaluate changes in urinary VEGF levels before and after initial treatment.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 97 patients with prostate cancer were included in this study. Of these 97, 52 underwent radical prostatectomy and the remaining 45 received hormonal therapy as initial treatment. Urinary VEGF levels were measured using a sandwich enzyme immunoassay, and the results were analyzed with respect to several clinicopathological factors.
RESULTS: The mean urinary level of VEGF in patients with prostate cancer was significantly higher than that in healthy controls. The urinary level of VEGF in prostate cancer patients with metastasis was significantly elevated compared with that in those without metastasis. Among 52 patients who underwent radical prostatectomy, the urinary levels of VEGF in patients with pathologically organ-confined disease were significantly lower than that in those with extraprostatic disease. Furthermore, the urinary VEGF level in 52 patients after radical prostatectomy was significantly lower than that before radical prostatectomy, while there was no significant difference in urinary VEGF level in 45 patients before and after hormonal therapy.
CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that the elevation of urinary VEGF could be a useful predictor of disease progression in prostate cancer, and that the urinary levels of VEGF reflect the therapeutic effect of radical prostatectomy, but not that of hormonal therapy.