Serum levels of angiogenic cytokines decrease after antineoplastic radiotherapy

Serum levels of angiogenic cytokines decrease after radiotherapy in patients with cancer and their may have an impact on response to treatment and progression-free survival. Here, we have evaluated sera of patients before and after radiotherapy for various tumour types for levels of soluble fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) to assess whether these factors decrease after radiotherapy, and whether their diminution is related to the radiation dose, tumour type, age and haemoglobin level. We demonstrate that levels of FGF-2 and VEGF, but not HGF, decrease significantly, and that the extent of their diminution is related to the radiation dose and response.