Haruhiko Yamazaki1, Tomoyuki Yokose2, Hiroyuki Hayashi2, Hiroyuki Iwasaki3, Sachie Osanai2, Nobuyasu Suganuma3, Hirotaka Nakayama4, Katsuhiko Masudo5, Yasushi Rino4, Munetaka Masuda4. 1. Department of Breast and Endocrine Surgery, Kanagawa Cancer Center, 2-3-2 Nakao, Asahiku, Yokohama City, Kanagawa, Japan. h.yamazaki0413@kcch.jp. 2. Department of Pathology, Kanagawa Cancer Center, 2-3-2 Nakao, Asahiku, Yokohama City, Kanagawa, Japan. 3. Department of Breast and Endocrine Surgery, Kanagawa Cancer Center, 2-3-2 Nakao, Asahiku, Yokohama City, Kanagawa, Japan. 4. Department of Surgery, Yokohama City University School of Medicine, 3-9 Fukuura, Kanazawaku, Yokohama City, Kanagawa, Japan. 5. Department of Breast and Thyroid Surgery, Yokohama City University Medical Center, 4-57 Urafunecho, Minamiku, Yokohama City, Kanagawa, Japan.
Abstract
PURPOSE: Angiogenesis plays a crucial role in the development, growth, and metastasis of carcinomas, and studies have reported conflicting evidence regarding the VEGFR expression in anaplastic thyroid cancer. We investigated the expression of VEGFR2 in patients with anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) and analyzed the clinical response to the VEGFR inhibitor lenvatinib. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included primary tumor samples obtained from 12 patients with ATC, including 5 males and 7 females (age range 63-89 years) who underwent surgery or core needle biopsy for a thyroid tumor in the Department of Breast and Endocrine Surgery at Kanagawa Cancer Center in Kanagawa, Japan. VEGFR2 protein expression in the ATC samples was analyzed by immunohistochemistry in all patients, and the therapeutic effect of lenvatinib was evaluated in seven patients who underwent tissue biopsy and lesion evaluation. RESULTS: VEGFR expression was not detected in any of the samples from the 12 patients. Four of the 12 patients treated with lenvatinib had partial response, the three patients achieved stable disease, and the five patients were not examined. CONCLUSIONS: There was no correlation between the expression of VEGFR2 in tumor tissue and the clinical response to lenvatinib among patients with ATC. Further studies are necessary to elucidate the mechanism underlying the response to lenvatinib.
PURPOSE: Angiogenesis plays a crucial role in the development, growth, and metastasis of carcinomas, and studies have reported conflicting evidence regarding the VEGFR expression in anaplastic thyroid cancer. We investigated the expression of VEGFR2 in patients with anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) and analyzed the clinical response to the VEGFR inhibitor lenvatinib. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included primary tumor samples obtained from 12 patients with ATC, including 5 males and 7 females (age range 63-89 years) who underwent surgery or core needle biopsy for a thyroid tumor in the Department of Breast and Endocrine Surgery at Kanagawa Cancer Center in Kanagawa, Japan. VEGFR2 protein expression in the ATC samples was analyzed by immunohistochemistry in all patients, and the therapeutic effect of lenvatinib was evaluated in seven patients who underwent tissue biopsy and lesion evaluation. RESULTS:VEGFR expression was not detected in any of the samples from the 12 patients. Four of the 12 patients treated with lenvatinib had partial response, the three patients achieved stable disease, and the five patients were not examined. CONCLUSIONS: There was no correlation between the expression of VEGFR2 in tumor tissue and the clinical response to lenvatinib among patients with ATC. Further studies are necessary to elucidate the mechanism underlying the response to lenvatinib.