[Vascular endothelial growth factor in patients with prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia]

The authors examined 25 patients with prostate cancer (PC) and 36 patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). In the group of patients with morphologically verified PC mean serum level of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was significantly higher than in patients with BPH (p < 0.05). The study demonstrated strong negative association between VEGF and prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels (r = 0.72, p < 0.05) in PC patients. There was no association between VEGF serum level and the stage or malignancy of PC (Gleason score). In benign prostatic glands moderate VEGF expression was observed only in basal cells, whereas in cases of PC all tumor cells displayed active VEGF expression; the difference was significant (p < 0.05). High serum VEGF levels and its active expression in patients with PC suggest an important role of angiogenic factors in the pathogenesis of this disease. The negative association between VEGF and PSA serum levels in PC indirectly confirms antiangiogenic activity of PSA, shown before.