BackgroundIncreased microvascular density correlates with more advanced disease and unfavorable overall survival in non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), suggesting that angiogenesis is important for disease progression. However, studies of anti-angiogenic agents in NHL patients, have generally not shown favorable outcomes. The aim of this study was to investigate whether plasma levels of a subset of angiogenesis-associated proteins are increased in indolent B-cell derived NHL (B-NHL) and to investigate whether the levels differ between patients with asymptomatic versus symptomatic disease.MethodsPlasma levels of growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15), endostatin, matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9), neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), long pentraxin 3 (PTX3), and galectin 3 (GAL-3) were measured by ELISA in 35 patients with symptomatic indolent B-NHL, 41 patients with asymptomatic disease, and 62 healthy controls. Bootstrap t-tests were used to assess the relative differences in biomarker levels between groups. Group differences were visualized using a principal component plot.ResultsMean plasma endostatin and GDF15 levels were significantly higher in symptomatic and asymptomatic lymphoma patients than in controls. Symptomatic patients had higher mean MMP9 and NGAL than controls.ConclusionsThe finding of increased plasma endostatin and GDF15 in patients with asymptomatic indolent B-NHL suggests that increased angiogenic activity is an early event in indolent B-NHL disease progression.