Abstract
Background: The observed elevated levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), its soluble receptor (sVEGFR1) and cell-free DNA (cfDNA) in the serum of patients with various cancers have attracted much attention to the possibility of using these agents as biomarkers for cancers. We wanted to find out whether VEGF, VEGFR1 or cfDNA is a biomarker for breast cancer. Methods: In this study, we used enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to examine the levels of serum VEGF and VEGFR1 in 23 patients with benign tumors, 19 patients with breast cancer and 32 age-matched healthy females. The levels of circulating cell-free DNA were measured using TaqMan real-time PCR analysis for the glyceraldehydes 3 phosphate dehydrogenase gene (GAPDH), We compared the serum levels of VEGF and its soluble receptors with those of the cell-free serum DNA. Results: In terms of serum levels of either VEGF or its soluble receptors VEGFR1, we found no significant difference between healthy individuals and women with benign breast tumors and breast cancer. However, there was a significant increase in circulating cell-free DNA in women with both benign and malignant breast tumors when compared with the corresponding healthy control group. We also found a significant negative correlation between VEGF and its soluble receptor VEGFR1 (r = -0.328 and p = 0.004), and a significant positive correlation between VEGF and cell-free serum DNA (r = 0.241 and p = 0.033). Conclusions: We can conclude that quantitative analysis of circulating cell-free DNA in serum may provide molecular biological understanding of breast tumors in women. It would also suggest that serum levels of VEGF and VEGFR1 have less significance. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.