Impact of serum basic fibroblast growth factor on prognosis in human renal cell carcinoma

Renal cell carcinoma is often characterised by extensive vascularity and angiogenic factors may be of importance for disease progression. Using a sandwich enzyme immunoassay, basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) was analysed in the sera from 206 patients with renal cell carcinoma before the initiation of therapy. The median bFGF level was 3.0 pg/ml (range <1.0-70.9 pg/ml). The serum levels were significantly correlated to tumour stage and nuclear grade. Patients with tumour thrombus to the renal or the inferior caval vein had significantly higher serum bFGF levels compared with those with non-invading tumours (P=0.007). Patients with serum bFGF levels above 3.0 pg/ml had a worse prognosis, compared with those with lower levels (P=0.001). Furthermore, patients with tumours with vein invasion had a worse prognosis compared with those without invasion. After multivariate analysis, only tumour stage and grade remained as independent prognostic factors.