Serum endostatin levels are elevated in patients with soft tissue sarcoma

Andrew L. Feldman, Ho Pak, James C. Yang, H. Richard Alexander, Steven K. Libutti

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

92 Scopus citations

Abstract

BACKGROUND. Solid tumors are angiogenesis dependent, and elevated levels of proangiogenic cytokines have been reported in a variety of histologies. Endostatin is an antiangiogenic fragment of the basement membrane protein, collagen XVIII. Because antiangiogenic protein fragments may be generated by tumor-derived proteases, the authors sought to determine whether circulating levels of endostatin were elevated in patients with localized soft tissue sarcoma. METHODS. The authors analyzed preoperative serum levels of endostatin, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) in 25 patients (14 males and 11 females; mean age, 44 years) with soft tissue sarcoma. For each serum sample, two aliquots were assayed in duplicate using a competitive enzyme immunoassay. Serum levels were compared with levels from 34 age-matched and gender-matched volunteer blood donors. RESULTS. Endostatin levels were significantly higher in sera from sarcoma patients than in sera from healthy controls (43.0 ng/mL vs. 25.8 ng/mL, respectively; P = 0.0002; Mann-Whitney U test). Significant elevations also were noted in VEGF and bFGF levels (P = 0.0002 and P = 0.0001, respectively). Furthermore, endostatin levels > 2 standard deviations above the control mean (55 ng/mL) were associated with an increased risk of tumor recurrence after resection (P = 0.047; log-rank test). CONCLUSIONS. Serum endostatin, VEGF, and bFGF levels are elevated in patients with soft tissue sarcoma. Elevated endostatin levels appear to be associated with tumor aggressiveness. The role of these cytokines in sarcoma angiogenesis and as potential targets for therapy warrants further study.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1525-1529
Number of pages5
JournalCancer
Volume91
Issue number8
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 15 2001

Keywords

  • Angiogenesis
  • Endostatin
  • Fibroblast growth factor
  • Soft tissue sarcoma
  • Vascular endothelial growth factor

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Oncology
  • Cancer Research

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