ArticlePediatric research2020
Serum cytokine profiles in infants with infantile hemangiomas on oral propranolol treatment: VEGF and bFGF, potential biomarkers predicting clinical outcomes.
Article in Pediatric research, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 22 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy and safety of oral propranolol and topical timolol in the treatment of infantile hemangioma: a meta-analysis and systematic review.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2024Pooled it
- Determinants of proliferation and involution in infantile hemangioma: macrophage crosstalk, endothelial plasticity, and metabolic rewiring.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2026Review
- Immune microenvironment of infantile hemangioma: cellular dynamics, molecular networks, and emerging immunomodulatory strategies.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Early plasma changes of HIF-1 alpha, matrix metalloproteinases-2 and - 9, and tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase-1 in patients with infantile hemangiomas treated with propranolol.Pharmacological reports : PR · 2025Article
- Dynamic serum biomarkers in infantile hemangioma: the role of VEGF-B, AKT, and eNOS in lesion regression.European journal of pediatrics · 2025Article
- Topical propranolol for infantile hemangioma: a comprehensive review of mechanisms, clinical efficacy, and novel formulations.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2025Review
- Mast cell in infantile hemangioma.Frontiers in oncology · 2024Review
- Overexpression of Annexin A1 is associated with the formation of capillaries in infantile hemangioma.Molecular and clinical oncology · 2022Article
- VEGF Pathway Gene Expression Profile of Proliferating versus Involuting Infantile Hemangiomas: Preliminary Evidence and Review of the Literature.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Infantile hemangiomas βPediatric research · 2022Article
- Update on infantile hemangioma.Clinical and experimental pediatrics · 2021Article
- Propranolol in the Treatment of Infantile Hemangiomas.Clinical, cosmetic and investigational dermatology · 2021Review
- Ultrasound and MRI findings as predictors of propranolol therapy response in patients with infantile hemangioma.PloS one · 2021Article
- Sunitinib malate inhibits hemangioma cell growth and migration by suppressing focal adhesion kinase signaling.Journal of applied biomedicine · 2020Article
- Efficacy of 0.5% Timolol Maleate versus 0.05% Clobetasol Propionate in Treating Superficial Infantile Hemangioma: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of Indian Association of Pediatric SurgeonsArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
13 authors at 11 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundOral propranolol has become first-line treatment for infantile hemangiomas (IHs). This study focused on identifying cytokines related to the biology of IH and early regression indicators of IH after propranolol treatment.
methodsFor inclusion, the patients had to be aged less than 1 year and have an IH with a largest diameter ≥2 cm. Patients were scheduled to receive 1 year of propranolol treatment. Serum cytokines involved in angiogenesis, vasculogenesis, and/or chronic inflammation were analyzed at 0, 1, and/or 12 months after treatment using Multiplex Luminex assays.
resultsAmong the 49 evaluable patients, 33 completed the 1-year treatment: 16 showed excellent response and 12 had good response to propranolol. Significant decreases in serum MMP-2, bFGF, VEGF-α, and MCP-1 levels were observed after 1 year of treatment compared to pretreatment values. The maximal diameters of the lesions significantly correlated with pretreatment serum VEGF-α, bFGF, and MMP-9. Patients with higher bFGF and VEGF levels showed better response to propranolol at 1 year.
conclusionMMP-2, VEGF-α, bFGF, and MCP-1 may involve in the biology of IH and their downregulation may be associated with involution processes of IH. Pretreatment bFGF and VEGF could be novel biomarkers for predicting response to propranolol. IMPACT: We found that decreases in the concentrations of MMP-2, bFGF, VEGF, and MCP-1 were associated with regression of the hemangioma, which indicates that one of the mechanisms of propranolol in the treatment of proliferative hemangiomas may involve downregulation of those cytokines. Patients with higher bFGF and VEGF levels showed better response to propranolol at 1 year. Importantly, serum bFGF higher than 37.07 pg/mL may predict an excellent response to propranolol. Therefore, along with the patient's age and the size and visual characteristics of the lesion, bFGF levels could help determine the viability of propranolol use in the treatment of IHs. Our study represented extensive serum profiling in IH, reporting the indicators and molecules clearly related to IH regression with propranolol treatment. The authors believe that monitoring serum cytokines, including MMP-2, bFGF, VEGF, and MCP-1, in IH patients could be important, in addition to clinical follow-up, for determining when to start and end propranolol treatment.
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