VEGF(121), is predictor for survival in activated B-cell-like diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and is related to an immune response gene signature conserved in cancers

Tumor microenvironment including endothelial and immune cells plays a crucial role in tumor progression and has been shown to dramatically influence cancer survival. In this study, we investigated the clinical relevance of the gene expression of key mediators of angiogenesis, VEGF isoforms 121, 165, and 189, and their receptors (VEGFR-1 and R-2) in a cohort of patients (n = 37) with relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) from the Collaborative Trial in Relapsed Aggressive Lymphoma (CORAL). In patients with ABC-like DLBCL, but not in patients with GCB-like DLBCL, low VEGF(121) expression was associated with a significantly better survival than in those with high VEGF(121) level: 4-year overall survival at 100% vs 36% (p = .011), respectively. A specific gene signature including 57 genes was correlated to VEGF(121) expression level and was analyzed using a discovery process in 1,842 GSE datasets of public microarray studies. This gene signature was significantly expressed in other cancer datasets and was associated with immune response. In conclusion, low VEGF(121) expression level was significantly associated with a good prognosis in relapsed/refractory ABC-like DLBCL, and with a well-conserved gene-expression profiling signature related to immune response. These findings pave the way for rationalization of drugs targeting immune response in refractory/relapsed ABC-like DLBCL.