Serum Vascular Endothelial Growth Factors-c And D As Forecast Tools For Patients With Gallbladder Carcinoma

【Purpose】Gallbladder carcinoma(GBC) is the most common cancer of the biliary tract. Lymph node metastasis(LNM) is the major diffusion route of GBC and is a prognosis factor. The aim of study was to assess the potential of the serum VEGF-C and D(s VEGF-C/D) levels to predict the presence of LNM and the survival of GBC patients.【Methods】The preoperative s VEGF-C/D levels of 31 patients with GBC, 10 patients with cholesterol polyp, and 10 healthy volunteers were measured by enzyme-linked immunoadsorbent assay(ELISA).【Results】The sVEGF-C/D levels of patients with GBC were significantly higher than those of people with healthy gallbladders(p<0.001 and p=0.001, respectively) and cholesterol polyp(p=0.032 and p=0.004, respectively). A significant and positive correlation was found between s VEGF-C and s VEGF-D(rho=0.684, p<0.001).In GBC, the s VEGF-C levels were associated with LNM(p=0.011), distant metastasis(p=0.018) and stage(p=0.045), but the s VEGF-D levels had a significant association with the tumor depth(p=0.001), LNM(p=0.001), distant metastasis(p=0.047) and stage(p=0.002). The s VEGF-C/D diagnostic values for the presence of GBC were sensitivity 71.0% and 74.2% and specificity 80.0% and 85.0%, respectively. With respect to the diagnosis of LNM, the diagnostic values of s VEGF-C/D were as follows: sensitivity 81.2% and 87.5% and specificity 73.3% and 80.0%, respectively. The mean survival time with high s VEGF-C was significantly shorter than that with low s VEGF-C(p<0.001), which was also true for low s VEGF-D(p=0.032). The overall survival rates of GBC patients were independently associated with the TNM stage(p=0.013) and s VEGF-C level(P=0.018)【Conclusions】The preoperative s VEGF-C/D levels might be reliable biomarkers for the presence of disease and LNM in patients with GBC. The s VEGF-C/D levels may be prognosis factors that can predict a poor outcome for GBC patients.