Serum vascular endothelial growth factor in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a key pro-angiogenic cytokine expressed by most human tumours. Two isoforms, VEGF₁₂₁ and VEGF₁₆₅, are soluble and can be assayed in serum. Serum VEGF has been shown to be significantly raised in patients with solid tumours and shows some promise as a potentially useful tumour marker. Serum levels of VEGF were assayed in 52 patients with untreated head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and 104 healthy controls. Serum VEGF is significantly raised in patients with HNSCC (P < 0.001), but there was no association with either tumour stage or specifically the presence of nodal metastases. Sixteen patients (31%) had a higher serum VEGF than 95th centile of controls, suggesting that serum VEGF measurement is of little practical use as an initial diagnostic tool. The finding that patients with HNSCC have significantly raised serum VEGF probably relates to enhanced platelet aggregation in these patients.