Neoadjuvant therapy affects tumor growth markers in early stage non-small-cell lung cancer

Abstract Introduction While adjuvant therapy of early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is widely accepted, literature data concerning neoadjuvant treatment provide contradictory results with both improved and unaffected survival rates. Also, data concerning potential effects of neo-adjuvant therapy on cellular level are scarce. Objective The aim of present study was to analyze the effect of chemotherapy followed by surgical resection on several key biological markers of tumor growth (TGF-β, VEGF), apoptosis (sAPO-1/Fas/CD95) and invasiveness (TIMP-1) assessed in the sera of NSCLC early-stage patients (IB-IIIA). Materials and methods Measurements were performed by ELISA method in blood serum from 24 NSCLC patients (I-IIIA) collected prior therapy, one day before surgery and 3 days after. Results TGF-β serum concentrations were significantly lower after both chemotherapy (P < 0.05) and surgery (P < 0.01) in comparison to the baseline. VEGF levels decreased following NEO therapy with subsequent significant up-regulation after surgery (P < 0.001). Interestingly, post-surgery serum VEGF strongly correlated with TGF-β concentration (r = 0.52, P = 0.014). No significant differences were observed for serum sAPO-1/CD95/FAS as well as TIMP-1 concentrations at any of three evaluated time-points. Conclusion Neoadjuvant treatment of early-stage NSCLC affects mostly mechanisms responsible for tumor growth and vascularization. Its effect on cancer cells apoptotic activity needs further evaluation.