title: Association of vascular endothelial growth factor expression with tumor angiogenesis and with early relapse in primary breast cancer.
abstract: Angiogenesis is an independent prognostic indicator in breast cancer. In this report, the relationship between expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF; a selective mitogen for endothelial cells) and the microvessel density was examined in 103 primary breast cancers. The expression of VEGF was evaluated by immunocytochemical staining using anti-VEGF antibody. The microvessel density, which was determined by immunostaining for factor VIII antigen, in VEGF-rich tumors was clearly higher than that in VEGF-poor tumors (P < 0.01). There was a good correlation between VEGF expression and the increment of microvessel density. Furthermore, postoperative survey demonstrated that the relapse-free survival rate of VEGF-rich tumors was significantly worse than that of VEGF-poor tumors. It was suggested that the expression of VEGF is closely associated with the promotion of angiogenesis and with early relapse in primary breast cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Tokyo Metropolitan Komagome Hospital.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Toi
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hoshina
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takayanagi
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tominaga
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000098:blood supply*; D016228:Endothelial Growth Factors / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008222:Lymphokines / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic; D011379:Prognosis; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; D042442:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factors
chemical_list: D016228:Endothelial Growth Factors; D008222:Lymphokines; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; D042442:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factors