Increased angiogenesis in papillary thyroid carcinoma but lack of prognostic importance.
Angiogenesis is important for tumor growth and progress, and the intratumor density of microvessels is a significant prognostic factor in many tumor types. The role in thyroid cancer has not been well studied, and we therefore examined a series of 128 papillary carcinomas with respect to microvessel density (MVD) and patient survival. Follow-up was obtained for all cases (median, 145 months). We found a mean MVD of 216 per mm2 (range, 35-751), and there was an average of 3.14 times more vessels in the tumors, when compared with surrounding non-neoplastic thyroid tissue. MVD was inversely related to age, tumor diameter, histological grade, and primary tumor extent. Furthermore, increasing MVD tended to be associated with improved survival (P = .056). In conclusion, our data indicate that angiogenesis is important for the development and maintenance of papillary thyroid carcinomas, although it was not identified as a prognostic factor.
Akslen
L A
LA
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Health System, Philadelphia 19104-4283, USA.
Livolsi
V A
VA
D000328:Adult; D002291:Carcinoma, Papillary / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000473:pathology; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008833:Microcirculation; D008875:Middle Aged; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic / Q000473:pathology*; D011379:Prognosis; D015996:Survival Rate; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality