VEGF Trap complex formation measures production rates of VEGF, providing a biomarker for predicting efficacious angiogenic blockade.

ABSTRACT: VEGF is the best characterized mediator of tumor angiogenesis. Anti-VEGF agents have recently demonstrated impressive efficacy in human cancer trials, but the optimal dosing of such agents must still be determined empirically, because biomarkers to guide dosing have yet to be established. The widely accepted (but unverified) assumption that VEGF production is quite low in normal adults led to the notion that increased systemic VEGF levels might quantitatively reflect tumor mass and angiogenic activity. We describe an approach to determine host and tumor production of VEGF, using a high-affinity and long-lived VEGF antagonist now in clinical trials, the VEGF Trap. Unlike antibody complexes that are usually rapidly cleared, the VEGF Trap forms inert complexes with tissue- and tumor-derived V

SUBMITTER: Rudge JS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2141784 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature