VEGFR2 and CD34 expression associated with longer survival in patients with pleural mesothelioma in the IFCT-GFPC-0701 MAPS phase 3 trial

[Display omitted] •VEGFR2 and CD34 were expressed in most Pleural Mesothelioma (PM) specimen tested.•VEGFR2 and CD34 staining correlated weakly, yet significantly, with each other.•VEGFR2 overexpression significantly correlated with longer OS or PFS in PM patients.•VEGFR2 staining could be used to identify PM patients with better prognosis. VEGF/VEGFR autocrine loop is a hallmark of pleural mesothelioma (PM). We thus assayed the prognostic and predictive values of VEGFR-2 [vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 or Flk-1] and CD34, a marker of endothelial cells, in samples from patients accrued in the Mesothelioma Avastin Cisplatin Pemetrexed Study ('MAPS', NCT00651456). VEGFR2 and CD34 expression were assayed using immunohistochemistry in 333 MAPS patients (74.3%), and their prognostic value was evaluated in terms of overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) in univariate and multivariate analyses, before validation by bootstrap methodology. Positive VEGFR2 or CD34 staining was observed in 234/333 (70.2%) and 322/323 (99.6%) of tested specimens, respectively. VEGFR2 and CD34 staining correlated weakly, yet significantly, with each other (r = 0.36, p