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Prognostic significance of vascular endothelial growth factor gene polymorphisms in patients with colorectal cancer

International Journal of Clinical Oncology volume 18, pages 1032–1041 (2013)Cite this article

Abstract

Background

Angiogenesis plays an important role in tumor development, progression, and metastasis. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a key regulator of angiogenesis. However, the contribution of common VEGF polymorphisms to colorectal cancer (CRC) prognosis remains unclear.

Methods

We have genotyped four polymorphisms of VEGF (−2578C>A, −1154G>A, −634G>C, and 936C>T) in 350 CRC cases from the Korean population. The genotyping of VEGF polymorphisms was performed by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism assay.

Results

Although not every VEGF polymorphism was significantly correlated with patient prognosis in overall 350 CRC patients, we found that the VEGF −2578CA genotype was associated with a significantly poor prognosis for rectal cancers compared to the CC genotype (HR = 2.156; 95 % CI 1.090–4.267; P = 0.028). In addition, we found that the −2578A/−1154G/−634G/+936C haplotype was significantly associated with a decreased overall survival (OS) rate in all 350 CRC patients (HR = 2.530; 95 % CI 1.340–4.780; P = 0.004). In combination analysis, we found that the combined VEGF −2578CA+AA/−1154GG genotype was associated with a poor OS rate in all 350 CRC patients (HR = 2.068; 95 % CI 1.159–3.693; P = 0.015).

Conclusions

The VEGF gene polymorphisms investigated in this study were not found to be independent prognostic markers in Korean CRC populations. However, our results suggest that the VEGF −2578C>A variant may be a potential genetic marker for rectal cancer prognosis. Further large population studies are warranted to define whether the −2578C>A polymorphism is a prognostic marker of rectal cancer.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) Grant funded by the Korean Government (2009-0075784 & 2012-007033).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest for this study.

Author information

Affiliations

  1. Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, CHA University, Seongnam, South Korea

    Moon Ju Jang, So Young Chong & Doyeun Oh

  2. Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, CHA University, Seongnam, South Korea

    Jong Woo Kim

  3. Institute for Clinical Research, School of Medicine, CHA University, 351, Yatap-dong, Bundang-gu, Seongnam, 463-712, South Korea

    Young Joo Jeon, So Young Chong, Doyeun Oh & Nam Keun Kim

Authors
  1. Moon Ju Jang
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  2. Jong Woo Kim
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  3. Young Joo Jeon
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  4. So Young Chong
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  5. Doyeun Oh
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  6. Nam Keun Kim
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nam Keun Kim.

Additional information

M. J. Jang and J. W. Kim contributed equally to this work.

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Jang, M.J., Kim, J.W., Jeon, Y.J. et al. Prognostic significance of vascular endothelial growth factor gene polymorphisms in patients with colorectal cancer. Int J Clin Oncol 18, 1032–1041 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10147-012-0493-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10147-012-0493-6

Keywords

  • Vascular endothelial growth factor
  • Colorectal cancer
  • Single nucleotide polymorphisms
  • Haplotypes
  • Survival