Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Polymorphism in Bladder Cancer: A Review

Bladder cancer is one of the most common urinary tract cancers. The main risk factors for bladder cancer are tobacco usage, aging, gender, exposure to chemicals and drugs such as cyclophosphamide and chlornaphazine, chronic bladder problems, and genetics. Genetic factors continue to be studied including vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) gene polymorphism. Overexpression of VEGF is known to be higher in bladder cancer patient than healthy individual. It is also associated with tumor progression, metastasis, recurrence, and survival since VEGF and its receptor play a key role in angiogenesis. Many studies evaluated the relationship between VEGF polymorphism and the risk of bladder cancer, but the results were inconsistent because of ethnicity and geographical influences. The present study aims to raise knowledge about the role of VEGF polymorphisms on risk of bladder cancer.