Abstract
Osteosarcoma is the most common aggressive primary bone tumor in children and adolescents. Angiogenesis, induced by vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its receptor (kinase insert domain receptor - KDR) is involved in tumor development. Both genes (VEGF and KDR) are polymorphic, and their association with osteosarcoma remains unclear. A systematic review of observational studies was performed to evaluate the association between polymorphisms in these genes and osteosarcoma development. Pubmed, Medline, Lilacs, and Scielo databases were searched for observational studies published up to April 2024. Eight publications of case-control studies were included, with quality ranging from 82% to 95%. All subjects were from the Chinese population: 1,681 cases and 2,049 controls. A total of six VEGF polymorphisms were analyzed. For osteosarcoma susceptibility, three studies found an increased risk with VEGF rs699947, four with VEGF rs2010963, two with VEGF rs3025039, one with VEGF rs833061, and no studies found an association with the VEGF rs1570360 and VEGF rs10434 SNPs. In addition, no studies evaluated SNPs in the KDR gene and osteosarcoma susceptibility. Further studies in diverse populations, particularly in Brazil, are necessary to clarify the role of VEGF and KDR polymorphisms in osteosarcoma development and prognosis. Level of evidence III; Systematic Review.