Serum vascular endothelial growth factor as a predictor of response and survival in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma undergoing hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy.

Background: Hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (HAIC) has been recognized as a useful therapeutic modality for patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The aim of this study was to investigate the association between serum vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels and the therapeutic effect of HAIC and the survival of patients undergoing HAIC.

Methods: Seventy-one patients with advanced HCC underwent HAIC through a subcutaneously implanted infusion port. One chemotherapy course consisted of low-dose cisplatin (10 mg/body on days 1-5) and 5-fluorouracil (250 mg/body on days 1-5), and 1 treatment cycle consisted of 2-3 courses of chemotherapy. Serum VEGF levels were measured with the Bio-Plex Suspension Array System (Bio-Rad Laboratories).

Results: The median survival time (MST) of all patients was 10.2 months, and the 1-, 2-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates were 46.5, 21.9, 12.8, and 3.7%, respectively. Of the 71 patients, 3 achieved a complete response (CR) and 22 achieved a partial response (PR) [response rate (CR + PR/71) = 35%]. The serum VEGF level (≥100 pg/mL, P = 0.026) was an independent predictor of therapeutic effect, and was positively correlated with the platelet count (r = 0.569, P < 0.001) and tumor size (r = 0.543, P < 0.001). Child-Pugh class (P = 0.046), serum VEGF level (P = 0.004), and therapeutic effect (P = 0.005) were identified by multivariate analysis as independent predictors of survival.

Conclusions: These results demonstrate that the serum VEGF level in patients with advanced HCC undergoing HAIC is an important predictive factor for therapeutic effect and survival.