Clinical significance of vascular endothelial growth factor and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 gene polymorphisms in patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors

• Published in: Asia-Pacific journal of clinical oncology Vol. 10; no. 2; pp. e40 - e45
• Main Authors: Kang, Byung Woog, Kim, Jong Gwang, Chae, Yee Soo, Bae, Han Ik, Kwon, Ohkyoung, Chung, Ho Young, Yu, Wansik, Song, Hong Suk, Kang, Yu Na, Ryu, Seung Wan, Lee, Kyung Hee, Bae, Young Kyung, Choi, Joon Hyuk, Kim, Se Won, Ryoo, Hun-Mo, Cho, Chang-Ho, Chae, Hyun-Dong, Park, Kyun Woo, Gu, Mi Jin, Bae, Byung-Jo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Australia Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-06-2014
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; DNA, Neoplasm - genetics; DNA, Neoplasm - isolation & purification; Female; Gastrointestinal Neoplasms - genetics; gastrointestinal stromal tumor; Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors - genetics; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Multivariate Analysis; Paraffin Embedding; Polymorphism, Genetic; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; Prognosis; single nucleotide polymorphism; vascular endothelial growth factor; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A - genetics; vascular endothelial growth factor receptor; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-2 - genetics; vascular endothelial growth factor receptor; gastrointestinal stromal tumor; single nucleotide polymorphism; prognosis; vascular endothelial growth factor
• ISSN: 1743-7555; 1743-7563
• DOI: 10.1111/ajco.12068

Aim
The vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) or its family might play role in tumor‐related angiogenesis in gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST), thereby affecting the prognosis. Accordingly, the present study analyzed the impact of VEGF and VEGF receptor‐2 (VEGFR‐2) gene polymorphisms on the prognosis for GIST patients.
Methods
In all, 213 consecutive patients with GIST from five medical centers were enrolled in the present study. The genomic DNA was extracted from paraffin‐embedded tumor tissue, and four VEGF (−2578C/A, −1498C/T, −634G/C, and +936C/T) and one VEGFR‐2 (+1416A/T) gene polymorphisms were determined using a Sequenom MassARRAY system.
Results
With a median follow up of 18.4 months, the estimated 5‐year relapse‐free survival and overall survival rates were 70 and 87%, respectively. In a multivariate analysis including age, sex, primary site of disease, pathology and risk stratification, no significant association was observed between the polymorphism of the VEGF and VEGFR‐2 genes and survival.
Conclusion
None of the five VEGF and VEGFR‐2 gene polymorphisms investigated in this study was found to be an independent prognostic marker for Korean patients with surgically resected GIST. However, further studies on a larger scale are warranted to clarify the role of VEGF and VEGFR gene polymorphisms as a prognostic biomarker for GIST patients.