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Pretreatment Levels of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor in Plasma Predict a Complete Remission Rate and Time to Relapse or Progression in Patients with Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma

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Archivum Immunologiae et Therapiae Experimentalis Aims and scope

Abstract

The aim of this study was to verify whether pretreatment plasma levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) correlate with prognosis and survival of patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Plasma VEGF levels were assessed at the time of diagnosis in 157 DLBCL patients treated with anthracycline-based chemotherapy. Plasma VEGF levels greater than or equal to the highest quartile (high VEGF levels) were associated with lower probability of a complete remission achievement (odds ratio 0.3; 95 % confidence interval [CI]: 0.1–0.6; p = 0.002) in univariate as well as in multivariate analysis (p = 0.04). The estimated 3-year progression-free survival (PFS) rate of patients with high VEGF levels was 31.7 % (95 % CI 17–51) compared to the 62.5 % 3-year PFS rate (95 % CI 53–71; p = 0.0004) in the patients with lower values. The former group of patients demonstrated an estimated 3-year overall survival (OS) rate of 47.1 % (95 % CI 30–65) in contrast to the 3-year OS rate of 64.3 % (95 % CI 54–73; p = 0.02) in the latter. In multivariate analysis, the high VEGF level retained its independent impact on shorter PFS (p = 0.02). Our results suggest that VEGF plays an important role in the clinical course of DLBCL. VEGF may be a useful marker for selecting the patients for whom new treatment approaches, especially those based on VEGF inhibitors, could be recommended.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Equipe d’Accueil “Pathologie des Cellules Lymphoïdes”, Université Claude Bernard, Lyon, France

    Ewa Lech-Maranda, Jacques Bienvenu, Bertrand Coiffier & Gilles Salles

  2. Department of Hematology, Institute of Hematology and Transfusion Medicine, Indiry Gandhi 14, 02-776, Warsaw, Poland

    Ewa Lech-Maranda, Krzysztof Warzocha & Przemysław Biliński

  3. Department of Hematology, Medical University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland

    Ewa Lech-Maranda

  4. Laboratoire d’Immunologie, Centre Hospitalier Lyon-Sud, Pierre-Bénite, France

    Jacques Bienvenu

  5. Hospices Civils de Lyon, Service d’Hématologie, Centre Hospitalier Lyon-Sud, Pierre-Bénite, France

    Florence Broussais-Guillaumot, Anne-Sophie Michallet, Bertrand Coiffier & Gilles Salles

  6. Chief Sanitary Inspectorate, Warsaw, Poland

    Przemysław Biliński

  7. International Prevention Research Institute, Lyon, France

    Peter Boyle

Authors
  1. Ewa Lech-Maranda
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  2. Jacques Bienvenu
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  3. Florence Broussais-Guillaumot
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  4. Anne-Sophie Michallet
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  5. Krzysztof Warzocha
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  6. Przemysław Biliński
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  7. Peter Boyle
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  8. Bertrand Coiffier
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  9. Gilles Salles
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Correspondence to Ewa Lech-Maranda.

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Lech-Maranda, E., Bienvenu, J., Broussais-Guillaumot, F. et al. Pretreatment Levels of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor in Plasma Predict a Complete Remission Rate and Time to Relapse or Progression in Patients with Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma. Arch. Immunol. Ther. Exp. 61, 165–174 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00005-012-0215-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00005-012-0215-9

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