Serum basic fibroblast growth factor and vascular endothelial growth factor and tumour growth kinetics in advanced colorectal cancer

BACKGROUND:: The development of new microvessels in the surrounding stromais a prerequisite for tumour progression. Basic fibroblast growthfactor (bFGF) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)are angiogenic factors expressed in a broad range of human tumours.We have measured the concentrations of both cytokines in theserum of patients with advanced colorectal cancer. We questionedwhether these levels are related to the number of tumour sites,the volume of liver and/or lung involvement and the growth kinetics. PATIENTS AND METHODS:: 44 untreated colorectal adenocarcinoma patients who had developedmetastatic and/or recurrent disease were evaluated. Serum levelsof bFGF and VEGF were repeatedly measured using ELISA. The extentof target organ involvement and the kinetics of tumour volumegrowth were determined on consecutive computer tomography (CT)images. RESULTS:: Patients with a tumour volume doubling time of less than 6 monthsshowed a higher bFGF and VEGF serum level than others, independentof the number of sites involved and the extent of the metastaticdisease. CONCLUSIONS:: The data suggest a predictive value of serum bFGF and VEGF levelsfor the progression of disease in patients with untreated metastaticcolorectal cancer. The results corroborate the importance ofangiogenesis in the process of tumour growth. The serum levelsmight prove a useful tool in the quantitication of angiogenesisand might be of valuable information in the decision processof initiating palliative chemotherapy. It will be of considerableimportance to investigate whether the serum bFGF and VEGF levelshave a predictive value on the probability of response to cytotoxictherapy. angiogenesis, colorectal carcinoma, tumour growth, serum bFGF, esrum VEGF