Circulating numbers of endothelial progenitor cells in patients with gastric and breast cancer

Angiogenic factors like VEGF or G-CSF were reported to mobilize endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) from the bone marrow. These EPCs were shown to be incorporated in the neovessels of developing tumors. Although the concentrations of angiogenic factors in the peripheral blood were reported to be elevated in cancer patients, the number of circulating EPCs has not been previously investigated. In this study, the number of EPCs circulating in the blood in 16 healthy controls and 71 newly diagnosed cancer patients was examined by a culture assay of peripheral blood mononuclear cells. The number of circulating EPCs was not found to be increased in cancer patients, although the plasma levels of VEGF were elevated. It is suggested that VEGF, at concentrations typical of those observed in the blood of cancer patients, does not mobilize EPCs into the peripheral blood.