Association between bevacizumab-related hypertension and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) gene polymorphisms in Japanese patients with metastatic colorectal cancer

Purpose: Bevacizumab, a monoclonal antibody that binds to VEGF, has a well-known toxic effect of hypertension. We studied possible associations between bevacizumab-related hypertension and gene polymorphisms to assure safer cancer therapy. Methods: We retrospectively studied 60 Japanese patients with metastatic colorectal cancer who had received bevacizumab-based chemotherapy. Genotypes were determined for five well-known functional single-nucleotide polymorphism of the VEGF gene at positions C-2578A, T-1498C, G-1154A, G-634C, and C936T. Hypertension was graded according to CTCAE v4.0 on the basis of home blood pressure. Results: The VEGF-2578 C/C and -1498 T/T genotypes were associated with significantly less hypertension during the first 2 months of bevacizumab-based chemotherapy (p = 0.004, p = 0.025, respectively). During the treatment period as a whole, the VEGF-2578 C/C and 936 C/C genotypes were associated with less hypertension (p = 0.031, p = 0.043, respectively). Preexisting hypertension was not associated with bevacizumab-related hypertension. Conclusions: This study demonstrated a significant relation between a lower incidence of grade 2 or higher bevacizumab-related hypertension and the VEGF-2578 C/C genotype for the entire treatment period in Japanese patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. This genotype might be useful for ensuring safer treatment of patients who receive bevacizumab-based chemotherapy.