Interferon decreases VEGF levels in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia treated with imatinib

In chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), evidence is supporting the role of VEGF in growth, and survival of leukemia cells. The evaluation of plasma VEGF levels in 403 CML patients randomized within SPIRIT study to received imatinib-400 mg versus imatinib + cytarabine versus imatinib + interferon (IFN) versus imatinib-600 mg demonstrated that VEGF is an independent factor of BCR-ABL burden. VEGF low levels at diagnosis were associated with a progression-free survival of 100% at 48 months. Under treatment, significant lowest levels were observed in imatinib + IFN arm. These results support the use of VEGF as a parameter to predict CML evolution and let us to speculate about antiangiogenic properties of IFN.