VEGF test
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December 9, 2007 at 4:24 am
I am wondering if any of you had a VEGF test done and how are the results. If it is high have you been offered a treatment called Bevacizumab?( it is a monoclonal antibody). If anyone know anything about this treatment please let me know.Thanks a lot for your input.
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December 9, 2007 at 9:09 am
what is a vegf test for and what is the ailment?
Thanks,
Dawn Kevies mom -
December 9, 2007 at 6:55 pm
cancers?
IF you web it up and get to the Wickipedia site, there’s a nice chart there about approved various anti-body therapies approved in the U.S., the medication you mention is listed there, but for cancers.If you are seeking the testing routines for either auto-immune or cancer diagnostics, I recommend either Athena Diagnostics or …gee the name escapes me for now regarding either biologic or genetic testings…
I suggest you call your doc[s] and demand a serious sit-down and talk/explain this all out for me? kind of meeting. I would encourage that you bring either a friend or family member who is capable of just sitting there and taking notes…to hear what you hear, but with a different set of ears…sometimes during diagnosis and proposed therapy stages with what all we go through? We do not always HEAR all that is being said.
I hope this helps you in any way or form. I can believe you are a bit upset about all that may be going on. I have been there myself, and truly understand all the questions you may have. Just ask away, but please give folks here a bit more background that they can relate, reflect and respond to. My heart is with you, as I am a ‘survivor’ {GOSH! I DO WISH THEY’d COME UP WITH A BETTER WORD?} I want to be a ‘ghost-buster’ when I grow up? You get the idea.
OK now I get it? Reading posts for a while ago…Something’s abnormal in the PET’s? Now maybe testings? Then, I’m gonna guess that the next step is biopsy…has that been done? I can now see where the Ben…stuff could be brought up…but I still would want a complete idea of where such therapy could lead you and the whys of it all. Gosh, sounds like a heap of stuff is going on! Super good thoughts your way for now!
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December 9, 2007 at 9:48 pm
VEGF=Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor.
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December 10, 2007 at 9:55 am
Thanks Angel for the definition of VEGF. As some of you reading my post are interested about my husband background I’ll highlight the most important points
“Nov 2005 firsts signs of neuropathy
Jan 2006 diagnosed with CIDP and wheelchair bound
IViG 5 days with no response
march2006 bone marrow biopsy-everything normal
April 2006 5 days of plasma exchange-no response
started high doze of steroids 80 mg a day
May2006 added 250 mg of cyclosporine a day
He was still deteriorating after all this drugs
September 2006 he could hardly sit up or use his hands so they’ve changed the cyclosporine with azathioprine ( standard doze)
Jan 2007 chest infection and had an CT scan which showed not much of a problem to the lungs but something wrong in his pelvis
Feb 2007 MRI to the pelvis which was normal?!!!!!
April 2007 admitted in ITU with pneumonia, intubated for 10 days and since then with a tracheostomy and on a breathing machine
May2007 ( CRP-795) big surgical intervention colon removed due to
ischemia
August2007 PET scan to the pelvis showed a lytic lesion consistent with a plasmacytoma
Sept 2007 bone marrow biopsy and lytic lesion biopsy, BM normal and in the lesion they could not find abnormal cells , more than normal in number but healthy cells
Neurologist thinks is not CIDP that my husband have but POEMS syndrome, the problem is that he can’t prove this, and no oncologist would do radiotherapy to the sacrum without any evidence, the lytic lesion is not enough
VEGF would be a proof and my husband’s is very high 850 and normal is less than 30, the lab wanted to check it again compared from a healthy person because they have never measured such high VEGF and just wanna make sure there is no error in the lab
One of the treatments that work for POEMS with very high VEGF is Bevacizumab, I’ve read a bit on the internet but is not something that I would trust.
He is getting stronger , most of all in the last 2 months, his breathing is still very weak and needs a bipap machine all the time , infections are coming every 2-3 weeks . He is now at the stage where he was before the pneumonia back in April and I hope that he is going to be even stronger by the time he’ll recover completely
I hope this make sens as I am in a hurry to the hospital and my time is realy limited, thanks a lot for taking the time to read my post. good day all of you -
December 11, 2007 at 4:00 am
Hi.
You’ll see this same reply on the UK forums, but I thought I’d post it here as well for those who don’t wander across the Pond.
VEGF and Bevacizumab are used in cancer treatment, but are used in neurological and other conditions as well, so don’t let the cancer thought worry you.
Wikipedia defines vegf as ‘an important signaling protein involved in both vasculogenesis (the formation of the embryonic circulatory system) and angiogenesis (the growth of blood vessels from pre-existing vasculature)’ ([url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VEGF_receptors)[/url]. According to the University of Michigan Health Service, ‘Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) controls new blood vessel growth. In the nervous system, however, it also supports the growth and survival of neurons’ ([url]http://www.med.umich.edu/pnrd/Research/als.htm#inn)[/url].
Getting past the medical jargon, the vegf protein sparks growth of new blood vessels in oxygen-deprived tissue. It’s not unusual to find a raised level of vegf in the cerebrospinal fluid of POEMS (Polyneuropathy, organomegaly, endocrinopathy, monoclonal gammopathy, and skin changes) patients, although less so in CIDP/GBS patients. There is apparently a lot of work being done with POEMS patients in this area, although I haven’t come across much with CIDP or GBS.
At any rate, as you’ve noted Bevacizumab is used in POEMS, so if the doctors think your husband has POEMS there’s no surprise if they try it on him.
Hope this helps.
Deb
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