SERUM VASCULAR ENDOTHELIAL GROWTH FACTOR LEVEL IN PATIENTS WITH HEMATOLOGICAL MALIGNANCIES

Spectral discrimination between normal and leukemic human sera using delayed luminescence

In this work, photoinduced delayed luminescence (DL) was used to distinguish serum samples of patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia from those of healthy volunteers. DL decay kinetics of human serum samples was measured using a homebuilt ultraweak luminescence detection system. It was found a significant difference in the weight distribution of the decay rate between normal and leukemic serum samples. A comparison of the DL kinetics parameters including the initial intensity, the peak decay rate, and the peak weight value was used in making discrimination between normal and leukemic human sera. Results in this work contribute to the development of a novel optical method for the early diagnosis of leukemia.

Vascular endothelial growth factor-A and changes in a tumor-bearing mouse model with Lewis lung cancer

Vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A) affects tumor growth and metastasis through stimulation of angiogenesis. The purpose of this study was to describe features of Lewis lung cancer (LLC) in mice and compare the serum VEGF-A levels with those of normal control mice. Two groups of mice were compared: one was subcutaneously injected with LLC cells (n=16) and the other served as the normal control (n=6). The serum VEGF-A levels were measured by ELISA prior to inoculation, and at 7, 21 and 35 days post-inoculation. The tumor weight and the metastatic condition were evaluated on day 35. Changes in body weight and serum VEGF-A concentration over a period of time were compared between the groups using generalized estimating equations. The relationship between the primary tumor and the metastatic condition was analyzed using the Spearman's rank correlation test. The survival rate was 56.3% on day 35 post-tumor inoculation. No difference was found between the groups with regard to gastrocnemius muscle weight on day 35 post-inoculation [0.1315±0.0066 g vs. 0.1308±0.0069 g (normal control)]. In tumor-bearing mice, the weight gain at sacrifice was less (0.24±0.45 vs. 1.93±0.47 g, P=0.01), the final mean tumor volume and weight were 4264.69±1038.32 mm(3) and 3.70±0.83 g, the number of nodules in the lungs and livers was 6.33 (range 0-20) and 2.22 (range 0-11), respectively, and the serum VEGF-A levels were significantly higher than those of control mice. In conclusion, lower body weight gain, metastasis in the liver and lungs, and elevated VEGF-A levels are features of LLC in mice.