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Genentech Biooncology

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Prevalence of VEGF-expressing tumors

Studies assessing vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression in lung cancer utilize a variety of assay techniques, and therefore prevalence rates may vary widely. In general, however, VEGF has been shown to be expressed in the majority of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tumors.2,7,11 One study that examined 88 patients with surgically resected non-small cell lung carcinomas found VEGF overexpression in3

  • 77% (68/88) of all non-small cell lung carcinomas
    • 75% (36/48) of squamous cell carcinomas
    • 73% (22/30) of adenocarcinomas
    • 100% (10/10) of large-cell carcinomas

Interestingly, some NSCLC tumors appear to have a nonangiogenic phenotype. In one study, Passalidou et al reported that approximately 9% (9 of 113) of tumors showed no evidence of neovascularization. It has been hypothesized that such tumors, which fill up in alveoli, acquire their blood supply from adjacent alveolar septa.13

In general, however, NSCLC tumors express VEGF and are highly vascularized, and the intensity of vascularization has been shown to correlate with the probability of metastasis.9

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VEGF and carcinogens

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