High density of peritumoral lymphatic vessels is a potential prognostic marker of endometrial carcinoma: a clinical immunohistochemical method study.
BACKGROUND
The lymphatic system is a major route for cancer cell dissemination and also a potential target for antitumor therapy. To investigate whether increased lymphatic vessel density (LVD) is a prognostic factor for nodal metastasis and survival, we studied peritumoral LVD (P-LVD) and intratumoral LVD (I-LVD) in samples from 102 patients with endometrial carcinoma;


METHODS
Endometrial carcinoma tissues were analyzed for lymphatic vessels by immunohistochemical staining with an antibody against LYVE-1. Univariate analysis was performed with Kaplan-Meier life-table curves to estimate survival, and was compared using the log rank test. Prognostic models used multivariate Cox regression analysis for multivariate analyses of survival;


RESULTS
Our study showed that P-LVD, but not I-LVD, was significantly correlated with lymph vascular space invasion (LVSI), lymph node metastasis, tumor stage, and CD44 expression in endometrial carcinoma. Moreover, P-LVD was an independent prognostic factor for progression-free survival and overall survival of endometrial carcinoma;


CONCLUSIONS
P-LVD may serve as a prognostic factor for endometrial carcinoma. The peritumoral lymphatics might play an important role in lymphatic vessel metastasis.
Gao
Ying
Y
Department of Radiotherapy Oncology, the 1st Affiliated Hospital of Medical College of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710061, China. togaoying@163.com
Liu
Zi
Z
Gao
Fei
F
Meng
Xiao-yu
XY
D000328:Adult; D016889:Endometrial Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D042583:Lymphangiogenesis; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D042601:Lymphatic Vessels / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015996:Survival Rate; D033921:Vesicular Transport Proteins / Q000032:analysis / Q000096:biosynthesis
C119248:LYVE1 protein, human; D033921:Vesicular Transport Proteins