The Changes And Significance Of VEGF And HIF-1α Levels After TACE In Patients With Primary Hepatic Carcinoma

Objective: To explore the changes and significance of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α(HIF-1α) and vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF) levels in patients with primary hepatic carcinoma(PHC) before and after transcatheter arterial chemoembolization(TACE).Materials and methods: The levels of VEGF and HIF-1α were detected in 25 health volunteers(control group) and 43 patients with PHC(observation group) 1 day before TACE and 1 day, 7 days and 28 days after TACE by using Enzyme-linked immune-sorbent assay(ELISA). Then, the difference in VEGF and HIF-1α levels between the control group and observation group(the level 1 day before TACE) was analyzed, and the dynamic change rule of VEGF and HIF-1α levels was also studied in the observation group 1 day before TACE and 1 day, 7 days and 28 days after TACE.The expression of VEGF and HIF-1α in 61 cases of PHC(21 cases received TACE before surgical resection in the observation group and 40 cases only received surgical resection in the control group) was measured, and the difference in VEGF and HIF-1α expression was analyzed between the two groups.Results: The levels of VEGF and HIF-1α were(81.12±30.55) pg/ml and(292.64±87.13) pg/ml, respectively, in the control group and(40.34±17.71) pg/ml and(184.78±83.04) pg/ml, respectively, in the observation group 1 day before TACE. The levels of VEGF and HIF-1α in the observation group were significantly higher than those in the control group, and the difference was significant(p<0.05). The levels of VEGF and HIF-1α before TACE in the observation group were positively correlated.The levels of VEGF and HIF-1α in the observation group 1 day before TACE were(292.64±87.13)pg/ml and(432.83±106.10) pg/ml, respectively, and the VEGF and HIF-1 α levels 1 day, 7 days and 28 days after TACE were(389.18±61.01) pg/ml and(289.45±86.75) pg/ml,(184.78±83.04) pg/ml and(462.83±117.80) pg/ml, and(270.76±94.38)pg/ml and(192.35±79.43) pg/ml, respectively. The difference between the two groups was significant(F=31.12, p=0.000 and F=122.94, p=0.000). The levels of VEGF and HIF-1α rose markedly on day 1 and day 7 after TACE and recovered to the pre-TACE level on day 28 after TACE.The VEGF and HIF-1α levels in the CR+PR group 1 day before TACE and 28 days after TACE were(343.02±74.57) pg/ml,(227.32±91.01) pg/ml and(209.90±62.69) pg/ml,(149.73±26.76) pg/ml, respectively. These levels decreased markedly after TACE(p<0.05); reversely, the VEGF and HIF-1α levels of the SD+PD group were(265.27±85.18) pg/ml,(308.77±79.67) pg/ml and(173.89±89.16) pg/ml,(210.82±87.60) pg/ml, respectively, which increased markedly after TACE(p<0.05).The positive expression percentage of VEGF and HIF-1α in the TACE treatment group and control group was 71.4%(15/21), 65.0%(26/40) and 61.9%(13/21), 55.0%(22/40), respectively. The difference between the groups was not significant(χ2=0.258, p=0.611 and χ2=0.268, p=0.604).Conclusion: The levels of VEGF and HIF-1α in patients with PHC after TACE treatment undergo dynamic changes. It is important to study the dynamic changes in VEGF and HIF-1α levels in patients with PHC after TACE treatment to evaluate the efficacy of TACE.