Table 4.
Biomarkers for monitoring the efficiency of VEGF inhibitors and limitations.
| Biomarkers | Examples | Anti-angiogenic agent | Cancer type | Limitations | Reference(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Circulating | Plasma VEGF | Bevacizumab, Vandetanib, or Sunitinib | Metastatic breast, non-small cell lung cancer, and hepatic cell carcinoma. | Is not specific for one drug and can't be notable as prognostic or predictive. | 110-112 |
| Blood cells | Progenitor Cells |
Bevacizumab, Sunitinib or Cediranib. | Hepatic cell carcinoma. | Only decreased in patients treated with sunitinib and did not affected in case of others. | 110 |
| Imaging | MRI (Ktrans) | Vatalanib, Sunitinib, Axitinib, or Cediranib | Multiple tumors. | Drop at different times after treatment and the optimal time of evaluation is not clear. | 110, 113 |
| Dynamic | Hyper-tension | Bevacizumab or Axitinib | Multiple tumors. | Not validated in large studies. | 114, 115 |
| Genotype | VEGF-634CC and VEGF-1498 TT genotypes | Bevacizumab | Metastatic breast cancer. | Dose-limiting markers. | 114 |
| Tissue | Interstitial fluid pressure (IFP) | Vatalanib or Imatinib | Mammary and colon carcinoma. | Not significantly reflect the features of tumors and depend on the host vasculature. | 116 |