The prognostic significance of joint detection of vascular endothelial growth factor & interleukin-12 in acute leukemia

In order to examine the diagonostic and prognostic significance of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and interleukin-12 (IL-12) in acute leukemia (AL), we measured the serum levels of VEGF and IL-12 in 25 patients with AL at different stages. Study indicates that serum levels of VEGF are higher in the untreated and recurrent AL patients than in healthy examinees. IL-12 levels are much lower in these patients. VEGF levels are reduced and IL-12 levels are increased in completely remitted patients. A negative correlation (r = -0.96) between the VEGF and IL-12 levels is observed in the normal control group. The data implies that patients with high VEGF and low IL-12 levels have a smaller chance for complete remissions: the illness easily goes recurrent and the prognosis is unsatisfactory. Our study suggests that joint detection of VEGF and IL-12 could be employed in AL diagnosis and prognosis.