Vascular endothelial growth factor C expression correlates with lymphatic involvement and poor prognosis in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.
Vascular endothelial growth factor C (VEGF-C), a member of VEGF gene family, is considered to induce both lymph node metastasis and lymphatic involvement in various cancers related to lymphangiogenesis. We examined the relationship between VEGF-C expression and clinicopathological features in 112 Japanese patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) who underwent esophagectomy and reconstruction without preoperative treatment. VEGF-C expression was examined using immunohistochemical staining and RT-PCR in surgically resected tissues. Regarding VEGF-C there were positive findings in 44 (39.3%) cases. VEGF-C expression in ESCC significantly correlated with the depth of tumor (p=0.0131), lymph node metastasis (p=0.0211), lymphatic involvement (p<0.0001) and pathological stage (p=0.0164). The prognosis for the VEGF-C positive group was poorer than that for the VEGF-C negative group (p=0.038). Multivariate analysis indicated that VEGF-C expression in ESCC is an independent factor only in cases of lymphatic involvement. VEGF-C expression in ESCC may play a great key role in lymphatic spread and this may be a consideration in terms of deciding the most appropriate treatment.
Kimura
Yasue
Y
Department of Surgery and Science, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812-0054, Japan. yasuek@surg2.med.kyushu-u.ac.jp
Watanabe
Masayuki
M
Ohga
Takefumi
T
Saeki
Hiroshi
H
Kakeji
Yoshihiro
Y
Baba
Hideo
H
Maehara
Yoshihiko
Y
D000368:Aged; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000378:metabolism*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000378:metabolism; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007564:Japan; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011379:Prognosis; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013997:Time Factors; D042582:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor C / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D040321:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-3 / Q000378:metabolism
D018076:DNA, Complementary; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D042582:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor C; D040321:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-3