Clinical relevance of intracellular vascular endothelial growth factor levels in B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Strong evidence exists for an association between high vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels and poor prognoses in patients with solid tumors and acute leukemia. Using Western blot analysis and solid-phase radioimmunoassay, we measured cellular VEGF levels in B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) samples from 225 patients and correlated these levels with disease characteristics and prognoses. The median VEGF level in CLL samples was 7.26 times the median level detected in normal peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Patients with lower levels of VEGF protein showed a trend toward shorter survival (P = .07). However, in a subgroup of CLL patients with good prognoses or early-stage disease (Rai stages 0-II, Binet stages A,B; β2-M ≤ 2.8 mg/dL), lower levels of VEGF were associated with shorter survival times. For the entire group of patients, no correlation was found between VEGF levels and β2-M levels or Rai and Binet stage. Most samples from patients with CLL expressed the 43-kd VEGF isoform in addition to the commonly expressed 45-kd isoform. It remains to be seen whether the expression of the 43-kd isoform is responsible for this reversed correlation with outcome. (C) 2000 by The American Society of Hematology.