SUNDAY, April 13 (HealthDay News) -- A biomarker that may help
doctors monitor the effectiveness of common treatments for kidney
cancer and non-small cell lung cancer has been identified by
researchers in the Netherlands.
The researchers found that CD34bright/CD133neg candidate
circulating Endothelial Progenitor Cells (ccEPCs) are a potential
biomarker during treatment with sunitinib (Sutent) or bevacizumab
(Avastin).
"Our work provides novel data on a potential biomarker for the
monitoring of anti-angiogenic drug activity in cancer patients, as
well as identifies a cell type that is a potential target for these
agents," Laura Vroling, a researcher in the department of medical
oncology at VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam, said in a
prepared statement.
Vroling and her colleagues noted that bevacizumab and sunitinib,
which target the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), have
proven effective against a number of cancers, but doctors aren't
able to determine which patients might derive the most benefit from
these drugs.
"Therefore, it is of great importance to identify and validate
biomarkers for early response or duration of response," Vroling
said.
She and her team studied 23 patients with renal cell cancer and
19 patients with non-small cell lung cancer.
"In our study, for the first time, the behavior of two
CD34bright cell populations, (CD45neg) candidate cEPcs and
(CD45dim) HPCs (hematopoietic progenitor cells), were monitored and
showed a different response of both cell populations during
sunitinib or bevacizumab therapy. The role of ccEPCs in human tumor
angiogenesis and their potential in prediction of treatment outcome
of anti-VEGF therapy needs to be addressed in future, larger
clinical cohorts," Vroling said.
The study findings were to be presented Sunday at the annual
meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, in San
Diego.
More information
The National Academies Press has more about
cancer biomarkers.
