Evaluation of vascular endothelial growth factor levels in rheumatoid arthritis patients, with and without joint swelling; a comparison with erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, rheumatoid factor and anti-cyclic citruillnated protein

Introduction: The aim of our study was to investigate the vascular endothelial growth factor levels in joint swelling-positive and joint swelling-negative rheumatoid arthritis patients and to then examine the relationship between conventional parameters such as the erythrocyte sedimentation rate and the levels of C-reactive protein, rheumatoid factor, and anti-cyclic citrullinated protein. Methods: Fifty-nine (52 women and seven men) rheumatoid arthritis patients and 25 (20 women and five men) healthy individuals volunteered for this study. The patient group was divided into two sub-groups based on whether or not they exhibited joint swelling. Results: The levels of vascular endothelial growth factor in the joint swelling-negative group were significantly different from those in the joint swelling-positive group, but they were not different from those in the control group (p = 0.001 and p = 0.72, respectively). We investigated the correlation between vascular endothelial growth factor and C-reactive protein levels (r = 0.37, p = 0.001). We also evaluated the diagnostic adequacy of vascular endothelial growth factor and created a ROC curve. The area under the curve was calculated to be 0.767. Conclusion: Vascular endothelial growth factor is an adequate diagnostic biomarker and can successfully be used to predict the occurrence of rheumatoid synovitis based on local inflammation.