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Updated: Aug 23, 2026
A Simple Bioassay for the Evaluation of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factors
Published on: March 15, 2016
Immunohistochemical determination of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) overexpression in malignant melanoma
Anil Potti1, Nauman Moazzam, Ketki Tendulkar
1Department of Medicine, Division of Oncology, University of North Dakota School of Medicine, Fargo, ND 58102, USA. apotti@medicine.nodak.edu
Background:
Molecular changes associated with the transition of melanoma cells from radial to vertical growth phase are not defined. To evaluate the role of VEGF in melanogenesis and determine its possible diagnostic and prognostic implications, we analyzed overexpression of VEGF in 202 cases of melanoma.
Materials And Methods:
Overexpression of VEGF was evaluated in 202 archival paraffin-embedded tissue specimens using an avidin-biotin immunohistochemical (IHC) assay.
Results:
Of the 202 melanoma specimens, 42 (20.8%) showed evidence of VEGF overexpression on IHC testing. Multivariate analysis performed using Cox proportional hazards method did not show a statistically significant survival difference between the VEGF-positive and negative groups (p = 0.25).
Conclusion:
Although of no significant prognostic value, VEGF may have critical therapeutic implications as a molecular target since it is expressed in about 20% of melanomas. The role of target-specific therapies against VEGF in malignant melanoma warrants further investigations.
