For Immediate Release
December 9, 2007 at 6:00 pm

BUFFALO, NY – Eunice S. Wang, MD, Department of Medicine, at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI), will present data suggesting that the tumor microenvironment contributes to the disease progression and survival of patients diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) at the 49^th Annual Meeting & Exposition of the American Society of Hematology, December 9, at 6 pm*, in the Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, GA.

Dr. Wang and colleagues analyzed the association of vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGF) with poorer response to standard chemotherapy in patients diagnosed with AML. AML is the most common acute leukemia in adults with over 12,000 new cases per year and an overall mortality rate of 70-80%. Angiogenesis, the growth of new blood vessels, is known to be crucial for the growth of tumors. VEGF is one of the most important factors in promoting tumor blood vessel formation (angiogenesis). Inhibition of VEGF is standard therapy for solid tumors but not for leukemia because of lack of data.

In this study, protein expression of VEGF-A and VEGF-C was evaluated in a cohort of 96 patients diagnosed with AML patients at RPCI between 1999 and 2004. Patients who had prolonged survival following treatment were found to have low VEGF-C levels and low VEGF-A levels. These data suggest that high levels of these factors (VEGFs) which promote blood vessel formation are associated with more aggressive and chemotherapy-resistant leukemia. Dr. Wang concludes that VEGF-C has value as an independent prognostic factor in AML patient outcomes. As high levels of VEGF-C appear to contribute to leukemia growth, targeting this protein may be of future therapeutic benefit to patients. Dr. Wang’s laboratory is currently investigating the effects of inhibition of VEGF in animal models of leukemia. This research is supported by grants from the American Cancer Society, RPCI Alliance Foundation and the Dennis Szefel Leukemia Research Fund.

Roswell Park Cancer Institute, founded in 1898, is the nation’s first cancer research, treatment and education center and is the only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center in Upstate New York. RPCI is a member of the prestigious National Comprehensive Cancer Network, an alliance of the nation’s leading cancer centers. Roswell Park has affiliate sites and collaborative programs in New York, Pennsylvania, and in China. For more information, visit RPCI’s website at www.roswellpark.org, call 1-877-ASK-RPCI (1-877-275-7724) or e-mail askrpci@roswellpark.org.

 

*Dr. Wang’s presentation (Abstract 2392) will be part of a Poster Session titled “Molecular Signature in Adult AML and ALL,” Sunday December 9, 6:00-8:00 pm.

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