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Updated: Jun 22, 2025
A Simple Bioassay for the Evaluation of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factors
Published on: March 15, 2016
Expression of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor in thymic epithelial tumors
Kensuke Chiba1, Takayuki Murase2, Keisuke Yokota1
1Department of Thoracic and Pediatric Surgery, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Nagoya, Aichi 467-8601, Japan.
Abstract:
Thymic epithelial tumors (TETs) are rare and the major symptoms are not obvious until the tumor progresses to a relatively large size and compresses the surrounding organs. As its growth is aggressive and it metastasizes to distant organs, it is important to find novel effective therapies. Lenvatinib, a vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) inhibitor, is approved as a drug therapy for thymic carcinoma (TC); however, although it is a molecular targeted therapy, there are no obvious predictors of therapeutic efficacy. The present study aimed to assess the association between clinicopathological factors and the protein expression of VEGFR, which is associated with tumor aggressiveness and the efficacy of VEGFR inhibitors. The VEGFR-2 protein expression was evaluated in 144 patients with TETs who underwent surgical resection. The present study assessed whether the expression of VEGFR-2 protein was associated with TET classification and pathological stage, progression-free survival and overall survival (OS). A total of 94 cases (65.2%) were positive for VEGFR-2 protein. The expression of VEGFR-2 was higher in the more aggressive type B3 thymoma and TC (88.5%) than in types A, AB, B1 and B2 thymoma (60.2%). The 5-year OS rate for the overall population was 53.1%. The 5-year OS rates of patients with negative VEGFR-2 staining score values (66.5%) were significantly longer than in patients with positive VEGFR-2 staining score values (42.5%; P=0.000078). Furthermore, the pathological stage was the only factor significantly associated with OS in multivariate analysis. The results of the present study suggest the possibility that the indications for VEGF inhibitor therapy could be extended to type B3 thymoma.
Insights
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) protein expression is linked to thymic epithelial tumor (TET) aggressiveness. Negative VEGFR-2 expression correlated with longer survival, suggesting potential therapeutic implications for VEGFR inhibitors.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Molecular Biology
- Pathology
Background:
- Thymic epithelial tumors (TETs) are rare malignancies often diagnosed late due to subtle initial symptoms.
- Aggressive growth and distant metastasis necessitate novel therapeutic strategies for TETs.
- Lenvatinib, a vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) inhibitor, is used for thymic carcinoma (TC), but efficacy predictors are lacking.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between clinicopathological factors and VEGFR-2 protein expression in TETs.
- To determine if VEGFR-2 expression correlates with tumor aggressiveness, classification, and patient survival.
- To explore potential biomarkers for VEGFR inhibitor therapy efficacy in TETs.
Main Methods:
- Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) protein expression was assessed in 144 surgically resected TET specimens.
- Immunohistochemical staining was used to evaluate VEGFR-2 protein levels.
- Statistical analysis correlated VEGFR-2 expression with TET classification, pathological stage, progression-free survival, and overall survival (OS).
Main Results:
- VEGFR-2 protein was expressed in 65.2% of TET cases.
- Higher VEGFR-2 expression was observed in aggressive subtypes: type B3 thymoma and thymic carcinoma (88.5%) compared to less aggressive types (60.2%).
- Patients with negative VEGFR-2 staining had significantly longer 5-year overall survival (66.5%) than those with positive staining (42.5%). Pathological stage was the sole independent prognostic factor for OS.
Conclusions:
- VEGFR-2 protein expression is associated with the aggressiveness of thymic epithelial tumors.
- Negative VEGFR-2 expression predicts a better prognosis in TET patients.
- These findings suggest that VEGFR inhibitor therapy indications might be extended to include type B3 thymoma.
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