title: Vascular density is a predictor of cancer-specific survival in prostatic carcinoma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Microvessel density has been shown to give prognostic information in a variety of solid tumors, but its role in prostatic carcinoma needs further elucidation.
  
  
  METHODS
  Intratumoral density of von Willebrand factor-positive microvessels was assessed in 98 cases of prostatic carcinoma, diagnosed at transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) between 1975-1983, using two methods: 1) volume density of microvessels and 2) vascular count in the 2-3 most vascularized fields.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Volume density and vascular counts were highly correlated. In Kaplan-Meyer analysis, mean cancer-specific survival time for patients with a vascular count < 135 was significantly longer than for patients with a vascular count > 135 (P = 0.0064). The same results applied to patients with WHO grade II tumors (P = 0.01). Excluding metastasis in a multivariate analysis, both tumor stage and vascular count had an independent predictive value for cancer-specific survival in patients with WHO grade II tumors.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Microvessel density may predict cancer-specific survival in prostatic carcinoma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Umeå University, Sweden.
authors.forename: I F
authors.initials: IF
authors.lastname: Lissbrant
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Stattin
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Damber
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bergh
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001808:Blood Vessels / Q000473:pathology; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008833:Microcirculation; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000473:pathology; D016019:Survival Analysis