title: Expression of vascular endothelial growth factor as a prognostic factor in node-positive squamous cell carcinoma in the thoracic esophagus: long-term follow-up study.
abstract: To clarify the clinical significance of the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in squamous cell carcinoma in the thoracic esophagus, particularly as a prognostic factor, we have investigated the correlation between VEGF expression in tumor cells and microvessel density (MVD), pathologic factors, and survival. A total of 92 specimens, each from a thoracic esophageal squamous cell cancer patient who underwent transthoracic curative R0 esophagectomy between 1991 and 1994, were examined immunohistochemically using anti-human VEGF and anti-human von Willebrand factor antibodies. The incidence of VEGF expression in the tumor cells was relatively low, at 23.9% of all specimens. There was no significant correlation between VEGF expression and histopathologic factors. The MVD at the tumor margin in patients with VEGF-positive tumor cells was significantly greater than that in VEGF-negative cases (35.2 +/- 8.9 vs. 22.7 +/- 8.2). The survival rate for patients with VEGF expression was significantly lower than that of those without VEGF expression; the same situation was found in node-positive patients but not in node-negative patients. In addition, multivariate analysis revealed that VEGF expression was an independent prognostic factor in node-positive patients. VEGF may be implicated in the definition of the malignant phenotype of squamous cell esophageal cancer via tumor angiogenesis. Accordingly, VEGF expression in the tumor cells could be a useful prognostic factor for esophageal cancer, particularly in node-positive patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Kurume University School of Medicine, 67 Asahi-machi, Kurume, Fukuoka 830-0011, Japan. yogata@med.kurume-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ogata
authors.forename: Hiromasa
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fujita
authors.forename: Hideaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yamana
authors.forename: Susumu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sueyoshi
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shirouzu
mesh_terms: D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D016228:Endothelial Growth Factors / Q000378:metabolism*; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D008222:Lymphokines / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; D042442:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factors
chemical_list: D016228:Endothelial Growth Factors; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D008222:Lymphokines; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; D042442:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factors