Aim
Targeted tumour therapies are promising, but their
Conclusion
The identification of patients with a likely benefit from targeted therapies is crucial. Tube formation shows substantial potential, but its utility needs to be confirmed in studies on the clinical rather than in vitro response to bevacizumab.
Methods
Fifteen patients with recurrent cervical cancer selected from the ongoing cervical cancer monitoring database of the Charité University Hospital Berlin, Germany, were included. Information obtained from the database included tumour stage, malignancy grade, presence of nodal metastases, lymph vessel invasion, patient age and menopausal status and serum concentrations of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), endostatin and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 1 (VEGF-R1). Vascular tube formation was assessed with cultured human umbilical vein epithelial cells.
Results
Five patients showed a positive, 5 an inverse and 5 no in vitro response to bevacizumab. Tube length showed a marked and significant dependency on bevacizumab response. Besides tube length, VEGF-R1 concentration was the only variable with some correlation to bevacizumab response, with high levels especially for inverse responders.