Vascular endothelial growth factor and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 tumor expression in patients with advanced laryngeal cancer after induction chemotherapy for organ preservation.

Abstract

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression seems to be associated with worse overall survival in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. The purposes of this study were to assess the prognostic values of the immunohistochemical expression of VEGF and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) in a cohort of patients with operable advanced laryngeal cancer who had been treated with induction chemotherapy. VEGF and VEGFR-2 expression in the malignant cells was quantified by an enzyme immunosorbent assay in a retrospective series. Fifty-nine patients were included in this study. We found moderate to high VEGF expression in 61% of patients and none to low expression in 39%. VEGFR-2 expression was moderate to high in 58% of patients and was none to low in 42%. The probability of a complete response to induction chemotherapy was significantly higher in patients with none to low VEGF expression (74% vs 40%; p = .02). VEGF expression seems to be a significant predictor of complete response to induction chemotherapy.