Circulating biomarkers of sorafenib efficacy in advanced HCC.

302 Background: Sorafenib represents the only drug with proven efficacy as first-line treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We analyzed 12 cytokines and growth factors related to angiogenesis, inflammation and cell proliferation and evaluated their possible utility as biomarkers of sorafenib efficacy in HCC. Methods: Our study population consisted of 62 HCC patients who received first-line sorafenib and 20 healthy controls. Material was collected at 3 different snapshots: (A) at baseline, (B) after 4 weeks on treatment, (C) at disease progression. Using commercially available ELISA kits we measured the serum levels of: VEGF-A, b FGF, sVEGFR2, Ang2, SDF1, VEGF-C, IL-6, IL-8, AFP, HGF, TSP1, BMP9 (bone morphogenetic protein 9). BMP9, a vascular quiescence factor, was explored for first time in HCC. Results: Patients had significant: (a) higher levels of Ang2, IL-6, IL-8, AFP, HGF, VEGF-A, FGFb , (b) lower levels of SDF1 than controls. At snapshot (B) we found a significant decrease of BMP9 and sVEGFR...