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Rapid decrease in serum VEGF-A levels may be a worse prognostic biomarker for patients with platinum-resistant recurrent ovarian cancer treated with bevacizumab and gemcitabine

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Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between changes in the levels of vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGFs) after treatment with bevacizumab and gemcitabine (Bev-Gem) and the clinical outcome.

Methods

Platinum-resistant ovarian cancer patients treated with Bev-Gem therapy at our hospital between 2014 and 2018 were identified. Serum VEGF levels at the first and second treatment cycle were measured by ELISA. All patients were categorized into two groups—patients with > 50% decrease in serum VEGF-A levels (Group A) and patients with < 50% decrease serum VEGF-A levels (Group B). The association between clinical outcome and serum VEGF levels was investigated between the two groups.

Results

Among 18 patients, 10 were in Group A and 8 in Group B. Group A exhibited a lower response rate (0% vs.75% p < 0.01) and clinical benefit rate (60% vs.100% p = 0.02) than Group B. The median serum VEGF-A level of Group A before the first cycle of Bev-Gem therapy was higher than that in Group B (61.2 vs. 3.7 pg/mL, p < 0.01). Group A exhibited worse PFS (7 vs., 10 months, p < 0.01) and OS (17 vs. 26 months, p = 0.04) than Group B. There were more patients with > 10% increase in serum VEGF-B levels in Group A than in Group B (p < 0.01).

Conclusion

The rapid decrease in VEGF-A levels and the resultant increase in serum VEGF-B levels might be associated with an unfavorable clinical outcome. Large-scale studies are needed to further examine these results.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Editage (www.editage.com) for English language editing.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology, National Defense Medical College Hospital, Tokorozawa, Saitama, 359-8513, Japan

    Hiroaki Soyama, Morikazu Miyamoto, Hiroko Matsuura, Hideki Iwahashi, Soichiro Kakimoto, Hiroki Ishibashi, Takahiro Sakamoto, Taira Hada, Jin Suminokura & Masashi Takano

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  1. Hiroaki Soyama
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  2. Morikazu Miyamoto
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  3. Hiroko Matsuura
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  7. Takahiro Sakamoto
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Correspondence to Morikazu Miyamoto.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Since our study was a retrospective analysis, formal informed consent was not obtained.

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Soyama, H., Miyamoto, M., Matsuura, H. et al. Rapid decrease in serum VEGF-A levels may be a worse prognostic biomarker for patients with platinum-resistant recurrent ovarian cancer treated with bevacizumab and gemcitabine. Cancer Chemother Pharmacol 85, 941–947 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00280-020-04070-8

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