title: VEGF and ki 67 expression in squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue: An immunohistochemical and computerized image analysis study.
abstract: Over-expression of ki 67 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a frequent finding in squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the oral mucosa. The expression of VEGF and ki 67 proteins was studied in a cohort of 87 patients with primary, previously untreated SCC of the tongue, using computerized image analysis (CIA) in order to determine the potential prognostic significance of these factors. Immunohistochemical analysis was performed with monoclonal anti-ki 67 (MIB 1) and anti-VEGF antibodies. A digital image analysis assay was applied for the evaluation of the results. Using CIA, VEGF over-expression was observed in 24/87 (27.5%) of the examined cases and this finding correlated to the stage of the disease (p=0.05). ki 67 was over-expressed in 49/87 (56.3%) of the cases and correlated to the size of the tumors (p=0.05). Cox regression analysis showed that there was no prognostic significance associating VEGF protein expression to survival status of the examined patients (p=0.77), whereas ki 67 over-expression was strongly correlated to poor prognosis (p=0.017). The size of the primary tumors was also strongly correlated to survival status of the patients (p=0.024), whereas stage of disease showed a borderline statistical significance (p=0.091).
authors.affiliation: Department of Head and Neck/Maxillofacial Surgery, Greek Anticancer Institute, Saint Savvas Hospital, 171 Alexandras Avenue, 115 22 Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Gregory
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Faratzis
authors.forename: Evangelos
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tsiambas
authors.forename: Alexander D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Rapidis
authors.forename: Aggeliki
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Machaira
authors.forename: Konstantinos
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Xiromeritis
authors.forename: Efstratios
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Patsouris
mesh_terms: D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D011379:Prognosis; D014062:Tongue Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism*; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D019394:Ki-67 Antigen; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A