Alterations of circulating bone marrow-derived VEGFR-2+ progenitor cells in isolated limb perfusion with or without rhTNF-α.

Background: Circulating endothelial progenitor cells (cEPCs) as recruited to the angiogenic vascular system of malignant tumors have been proposed as a biomarker in malignancies. The effect of antitumor chemotherapy on cEPCs is not fully understood. We examined the level of cEPCs, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and angiopoietin-2 in the blood of sarcoma and melanoma patients before and after isolated limb perfusion (ILP) with or without recombinant human tumor necrosis factor-α (rhTNF-α).