Expression of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A and Its Type 1 Receptor in Supratentorial Neoplasm.

Background: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is one of the primary angiogenesis regulators in solid cancers. Brain solid tumors are life-threatening diseases in which angiogenesis is an important phase of tumor development and progression. In the present study, VEGF-A and VEGF receptor (VEGF-R1) gene expression was evaluated in CNS brain tumors.

Methods: VEGF-A and VEGF-R1 expression was quantified using real-time PCR on fresh biopsies of 38 supratentorial brain tumors compared to 30 non-tumoral tissues. Then, the correlations were investigated with clinic-pathological and demographic factors of the patients.

Results: PCR product sequencing confirmed the validity of qRT-PCR. Although VEGF-A and VEGF-R1 expression showed increasing trends with the progression of cell proliferation in different stages of astrocytoma, VEGF-R1 did not meet the 95% confidence interval in other brain tumors. An increasing trend in VEGF-A expression and a declining trend in VEGF-R1 expression from Stage I to II were observed in meningioma. VEGF-A and VEGF-R1 expression had no significant correlation with age and gender. Although peritumoral brain edema (PTBE) in astrocytoma was significantly associated with tumor stages, VEGF-A and VEGF-R1 were not correlated with PTBE in meningioma and metastasis.

Conclusion: VEGF-A is a valuable factor for the prognosis of PTBE and malignancy in astrocytoma and is helpful in monitoring treatment approaches.