Abstract
Background
Angiogenesis plays an important role in tumor development, progression, and metastasis. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a key regulator of angiogenesis. However, the contribution of common VEGF polymorphisms to colorectal cancer (CRC) prognosis remains unclear.
Methods
We have genotyped four polymorphisms of VEGF (−2578C>A, −1154G>A, −634G>C, and 936C>T) in 350 CRC cases from the Korean population. The genotyping of VEGF polymorphisms was performed by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism assay.
Results
Although not every VEGF polymorphism was significantly correlated with patient prognosis in overall 350 CRC patients, we found that the VEGF −2578CA genotype was associated with a significantly poor prognosis for rectal cancers compared to the CC genotype (HR = 2.156; 95 % CI 1.090–4.267; P = 0.028). In addition, we found that the −2578A/−1154G/−634G/+936C haplotype was significantly associated with a decreased overall survival (OS) rate in all 350 CRC patients (HR = 2.530; 95 % CI 1.340–4.780; P = 0.004). In combination analysis, we found that the combined VEGF −2578CA+AA/−1154GG genotype was associated with a poor OS rate in all 350 CRC patients (HR = 2.068; 95 % CI 1.159–3.693; P = 0.015).
Conclusions
The VEGF gene polymorphisms investigated in this study were not found to be independent prognostic markers in Korean CRC populations. However, our results suggest that the VEGF −2578C>A variant may be a potential genetic marker for rectal cancer prognosis. Further large population studies are warranted to define whether the −2578C>A polymorphism is a prognostic marker of rectal cancer.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) Grant funded by the Korean Government (2009-0075784 & 2012-007033).
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The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest for this study.
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M. J. Jang and J. W. Kim contributed equally to this work.
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Jang, M.J., Kim, J.W., Jeon, Y.J. et al. Prognostic significance of vascular endothelial growth factor gene polymorphisms in patients with colorectal cancer. Int J Clin Oncol 18, 1032–1041 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10147-012-0493-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10147-012-0493-6