%0 Journal Article %T The levels of serum vascular endothelial growth factor and Bcl-2 and association between them in stage IV non-small cell lung cancer %A Esra Ertan YAZAR %A Hilal O£¿uz SOYDIN£¿ %A Aziz YAZAR %A Akif £¿ZG¨¹L %J Turkish Journal of Oncology %D 2007 %I KARE Publishing %X OBJECTIVES: In most of the tumors, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) shows its angiogenic effects by increasing the level of the Bcl-2 oncoprotein. The aim of this study was to investigate the serum levels of VEGF and Bcl-2 and the possible association between them in stage III and stage IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). METHODS: Twenty eight patients in stage III, 24 patients in stage IV and 25 healthy subjects were enrolled in the study. Serum Bcl-2 and VEGF levels were analyzed by ELISA. RESULTS: The VEGF (pg/ml) level in stage IV (116.7¡À151.7) and stage III (116.2¡À140.6) patients was higher than healthy subjects (34.5¡À6.3) (p<0.0001). There was no difference between stage III and stage IV patients with respect to VEGF. The Bcl-2 level was not different between the three groups (p=0.15). The correlation test didn¡¯t show any significance between VEGF and Bcl-2 in the three groups (p=0.109). CONCLUSION: The VEGF level in stage IV was not higher than stage III patients. In order to show the possible association between VEGF and Bcl-2 in stage IV patients, we need studies including more patients, angiogenic and antiapoptotic cytokins. %K Non-small cell lung cancer %K vascular endothelial growth factor %K Bcl-2. %U http://onkder.org/pdf.php3?id=634