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Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor, Plasma

TEST: 117006
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CPT: 83520
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Synonyms

  • VEGF-A, Plasma

Expected Turnaround Time

2 - 3 days

Turnaround time is defined as the usual number of days from the date of pickup of a specimen for testing to when the result is released to the ordering provider. In some cases, additional time should be allowed for additional confirmatory or additional reflex tests. Testing schedules may vary.

Related Documents

Specimen Requirements

Specimen

Plasma, frozen

Volume

0.5 mL

Container

Lavender-top (EDTA) tube

Collection

Transfer the plasma into a LabCorp PP transpak frozen purple tube with screw cap (LabCorp N° 49482). Freeze immediately and maintain frozen until tested. To avoid delays in turnaround time when requesting multiple tests on frozen samples, please submit separate frozen specimens for each test requested.

Storage Instructions

Freeze.

Stability Requirements

Temperature

Period

Room temperature

Unstable

Refrigerated

Unstable

Frozen

7 days

Freeze/thaw cycles

Stable x3

Causes for Rejection

Non-EDTA plasma or serum sent; nonfrozen specimen; hemolysis or gross lipemia

Test Details

Use

Assessment of tumor progression and prognosis

Limitations

Results of this test are labeled for research purposes only by the assay's manufacturer. The performance characteristics of this assay have not been established by the manufacturer. The result should not be used for treatment or for diagnostic purposes without confirmation of the diagnosis by another medically established diagnostic product or procedure. The performance characteristics were determined by LabCorp.

Methodology

Enzyme immunoassay (EIA)

Reference Interval

0−115 pg/mL

Additional Information

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), also known as vascular permeability factor (VPF), is a homodimeric 34 to 45 kilodalton, heparin-binding glycoprotein. VEGF has potent angiogenic, mitogenic, and vascular permeability-enhancing activities specific for endothelial cells.1 VEGF is thought to play an important role in several physiologic processes, including wound healing, ovulation, menstruation, maintenance of blood pressure, and pregnancy.1 VEGF has also been associated with a number of pathologic processes that involve angiogenesis, including arthritis, psoriasis, macular degeneration, and diabetic retinopathy.1 In general, the growth and spread of tumors has been shown to be dependent on the development of increased vascularization in the tumor vicinity in order to maintain sufficient oxygenation.1 Tumor expression of proangiogenic factors, including VEGF, has been associated with advanced tumor progression in a number of human cancers.2,3 Increased expression of VEGF has been associated with poorer prognosis in patients with cancer of the colon,4-7 stomach,8,9 pancreas10,11 breast,12-15 ovary,16,17 prostate,18,19 liver,20 and in oral squamous cell carcinoma21 and melanoma.22 Serum VEGF levels are significantly higher than plasma levels. This is thought to reflect the fact that VEGF is released into the plasma from platelets as part of the clotting process.23 It has been hypothesized that VEGF released from activated platelets may have a role in angiogenesis during wound healing and may also be associated with pathological conditions, such as atherosclerosis, tumor growth, and metastasis formation.23 In different studies, serum VEGF7,16,17,20,21 and plasma VEGF6,12,18,19 levels have been found to correlate with the clinical status of patients with cancer.

Footnotes

1. Parikh AA, Ellis LM. The vascular endothelial growth factor family and its receptors. Hematol Oncol Clin North Am. 2004 Oct; 18(5):951-971,vii. 15474329
2. Nagy JA, Vasile E, Feng D, et al. Vascular permeability factor/vascular endothelial growth factor induces lymphangiogenesis as well as angiogenesis. J Exp Med. 2002 Dec 2; 196(11):1497-506. 12461084
3. Reinmuth N, Parikh AA, Ahmad SA, et al. Biology of angiogenesis in tumors of the gastrointestinal tract. Microsc Res Tech. 2003 Feb 1; 60(2):199-207. 12539174
4. Lee JC, Chow NH, Wang ST, Huang SM. Prognostic value of vascular endothelial growth factor expression in colorectal cancer patients. Eur J Cancer. 2000 Apr; 36(6):748-753. 10762747
5. Takahashi Y, Kitadai Y, Bucana CD, Cleary KR, Ellis LM. Expression of vascular endothelial growth factor and its receptor, KDR, correlates with vascularity, metastasis, and proliferation of human colon cancer. Cancer Res. 1995 Sep 15; 55(18):3964-3968. 7664263
6. Minagawa N, Nakayama Y, Hirata K, et al. Correlation of plasma level and immunohistochemical expression of vascular endothelial growth factor in patients with advanced colorectal cancer. Anticancer Res. 2002 Sep-Oct; 22(5):2957-2963. 12530025
7. Chin KF, Greenman J, Reusch P, Gardiner E, Marme D, Monson JR. Vascular endothelial growth factor and soluble tie-2 receptor in colorectal cancer: Associations with disease recurrence. Eur J Surg Oncol. 2003 Aug; 29(6):497-505. 12875855
8. Takahashi Y, Cleary KR, Mai M, Kitadai Y, Bucana CD, Ellis LM. Significance of vessel count and vascular endothelial growth factor and its receptor (KDR) in intestinal-type gastric cancer. Clin Cancer Res. 1996 Oct; 2(10):1679-1684. 9816116
9. Maeda K, Kang SM, Onoda N, et al. Vascular endothelial growth factor expression in preoperative biopsy specimens correlates with disease recurrence in patients with early gastric carcinoma. Cancer. 1999 Aug 15; 86(4):566-571. 10440683
10. Fujimoto K, Hosotani R, Wada M, et al. Expression of two angiogenic factors, vascular endothelial growth factor and platelet-derived endothelial cell growth factor in human pancreatic cancer, and its relationship to angiogenesis. Eur J Cancer. 1998 Aug; 34(9):1439-1447. 9849429
11. Ikeda N. Adachi M, Taki T, et al. Prognostic significance of angiogenesis in human pancreatic cancer. Br J Cancer. 1999 Mar; 79(9-10):1553-1563. 10188906
12. Adams J, Carder PJ, Downey S, et al. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in breast cancer: Comparison of plasma, serum, and tissue VEGF and microvessel density and effects of tamoxifen. Cancer Res. 2001 Jun 1; 60(11):2898-2905. 10850435
13. Berns EM, Klijn JG, Look MP, et al. Combined vascular endothelial growth factor and TP53 status predicts poor response to tamoxifen therapy in estrogen receptor-positive advanced breast cancer. Clin Cancer Res. 2003 Apr; 9(4):1253-1258. 12684392
14. Manders P, Beex LV, Tjan-Heijnen VC, et al. The prognostic value of vascular endothelial growth factor in 574 node-negative breast cancer patients who did not receive adjuvant systemic therapy. Br J Cancer. 2002 Sep 23; 87(7):772-778. 12232762
15. Desruisseau S, Palmari J, Giusti C, Romain S, Martin PM, Berthois Y. Clinical relevance of amphiregulin and VEGF in primary breast cancers. Int J Cancer. 2004 Sep 20; 111(5):733-740. 15252843
16. Cooper BC, Ritchie JM, Broghammer CL, et al. Preoperative serum vascular endothelial growth factor levels: Significance in ovarian cancer. Clin Cancer Res. 2002 Oct; 8(10):3193-3197. 12374688
17. Alvarez Secord A, Sayer R, Snyder SA, et al. The relationship between serum vascular endothelial growth factor, persistent disease, and survival at second-look laparotomy in ovarian cancer. Gynecol Oncol. 2004 Jul; 94(1):74-79. 15262122
18. Duque JL, Loughlin KR, Adam RM, Kantoff PW, Zurakowski D, Freeman MR. Plasma Levels of vascular endothelial growth factor are increased in patients with metastatic prostate cancer. Urology. 1999 Sep; 54(3):523-527. 10475365
19. George DJ, Halabi S, Shepard TF, et al. Clin Cancer Res. 2001 Jul; 7(7):1932-1936. 11448906
20. Poon RT, Lau CP, Cheung ST, Yu WC, Fan ST. Quantitative correlation of serum levels and tumor expression of vascular endothelial growth factor in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. Cancer Res. 2003 Jun 15; 63(12):3121-3126. 12810638
21. Shang ZJ, Li JR, Li ZB. Circulating levels of vascular endothelial growth factor in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma.. Int J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2002Oct; 31(5):495-498. 12418564
22. Gorski DH, Leal AD, Goydos JS. Differential expression of vascular endothelial growth factor-A isoforms at different stages of melanoma progression. J Am Coll Surg. 2003 Sep; 197(3):408-418. 12946796
23. Wartiovaara U, Salven P, Mikkola H, et al. Peripheral blood platelets express VEGF-C and VEGF which are released during platelet activation. Thromb Haemost. 1998 Jul; 80(1):171-175. 9684805

LOINC® Map

Order Code Order Code Name Order Loinc Result Code Result Code Name UofM Result LOINC
117006 VEGF, Plasma 34694-0 117057 VEGF, Plasma pg/mL 34694-0

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