Effect of laser therapy on plasma expression of VEGF and bFGF in infants with cutaneous hemangioma

Abstract

The present study aimed to investigate the effect of laser therapy on the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) in the plasma of infants diagnosed with cutaneous hemangioma, in order to identify biomarkers for assessing the clinical efficacy of laser therapy. In total, 109 infants with superficial abdominal hemangioma received laser treatment, of which 74 were diagnosed in the proliferation phase, 20 in the regression phase and 15 in the involution phase. In addition, 10 infants without cutaneous hemangioma were recruited as normal controls. The concentrations of VEGF and bFGF in peripheral plasma samples were measured using ELISAs. Dynamic changes in the VEGF and bFGF concentrations of 23 infants diagnosed in the proliferation phase were compared before and after laser therapy. The plasma concentration of VEGF in the proliferation phase group was significantly higher compared with that in the regression phase, involution phase and normal control groups (all P<0.01), whereas it did not differ significantly among the regression phase, involution phase and normal control groups (all P>0.05). The plasma concentration of bFGF in the proliferation phase group was significantly higher compared with that in the regression phase, involution phase and normal control groups (all P<0.01), while the bFGF level did not differ significantly among the regression phase, involution phase and normal control groups (all P>0.05). Following laser therapy, the plasma concentrations of VEGF and bFGF in infants with cutaneous hemangioma were significantly decreased (both P<0.01). These results suggested that VEGF and bFGF may serve as reliable indexes to evaluate the clinical efficacy of laser therapy for treating infantile cutaneous hemangioma.