• Sedef Hande Aktaş, Hakan Ozan Akbulut Yazici, Nurullah Zengin, Halime Nalan Akgün, Zeki Üstüner, and Fikri Içli.
• Department of Medical Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey.
• Turk J Med Sci. 2017 Apr 18; 47 (2): 399-406.

Background/AimThe role of angiogenic factors in gastric cancer is not clear. We aimed to assess the role of vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA), angiopoietin 1 (Ang-1), and placental growth factor (PlGF) in the prognosis of patients with advanced gastric cancer.Materials And MethodsThirty consecutive patients treated with a modified DCF (docetaxel, cisplatin, and fluorouracil) regimen were included in the study. The plasma VEGFA, Ang-1, and PlGF levels of the patients before treatment and following two cycles of chemotherapy were measured and evaluated as prognostic factors.ResultsPoor performance status and lower Ang-1 levels were correlated with poor overall survival (OS). No significant correlation between VEGFA or PlGF and OS was found. An angiogenesis prognostic index (API) based on the levels of VEGFA, Ang-1, and PlGF was found to be highly correlated with OS. Performance status and API were found as independent prognostic factors for OS. Furthermore, a decrease in VEGFA by 25% from the pretreatment level was also found as a prognostic factor for OS independent of response to DCF regimen.ConclusionOur results support the use of the new API including VEGFA, Ang-1, and PlGF levels in patients with advanced gastric cancer as a predictor of survival.

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