title: VEGF-C expression correlates with histological differentiation and metastasis in squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus.
abstract: Vascular endothelial growth factor C (VEGF-C) is known to act in lymphangiogenesis. Recent reports suggest VEGF-C plays a role in the spread of several cancers to the lymph system. Lymphatic spread is a critical prognostic factor in esophageal cancer, however, the molecular mechanism involved in the spread of cancerous cells remains unclear. In the present study the clinicopathological implication of VEGF-C was analyzed using immunohistochemistry. Seventy-one patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) resected in our institute were included in this study. Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded specimens were stained for VEGF-C and the correlation between the staining, its clinicopathological parameters and its prognostic power were analyzed statistically. Only histological grade (differentiation) was shown to have a statistically significant correlation with VEGF-C expression (p=0.028). Age (p=0.064), lymph node metastasis (pN) (p=0.085) and vascular invasion (p=0.092) tended to correlate with VEGF-C expression although on analysis this correlation was not statistically significant. The results suggested there is no prognostic implication for VEGF-C in ESCC (p=0.80). There is no significant correlation between VEGF-C expression and clinicopathological parameters involved in lymphatic spread. However, VEGF-C expression might play an important role in metastasis of ESCC since histological grade was closely related to lymph node metastasis and distant metastasis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery II, Oita Medical University, Hasama-machi, Oita, Japan.
authors.forename: Tsuyoshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Noguchi
authors.forename: Shinsuke
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Takeno
authors.forename: Tomotaka
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shibata
authors.forename: Yuzo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Uchida
authors.forename: Shigeo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yokoyama
authors.forename: Wolfram
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Müller
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D018450:Disease Progression; D016228:Endothelial Growth Factors / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D042582:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor C
chemical_list: D016228:Endothelial Growth Factors; D042582:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor C