title: Morphologic classification of microvessels in hepatocellular carcinoma is associated with the prognosis after resection.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The relationship between neovasculature in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and the prognosis of patients still remains controversial. The aim of the present study was to investigate the prognostic significance of morphologic features of the microvessels in patients with HCC after resection.
  
  
  METHODS
  The paraffin-embedding specimens of 98 consecutive HCC patients, who received primary resection between 2000 and 2002, were collected from our prospective established tumor bank. The intratumoral microvessels were evaluated by immunohistochemical staining for CD31 and CD34. The disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) of patients were analyzed by Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox proportional hazards regression model.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There are two distinct microvessel types: capillary-like and sinusoid-like were identified in tumor tissues. The patients could be divided into two groups according to their microvessel types. Both DFS and OS of capillary group patients (n = 65) were better than those of sinusoid group patients (n = 33). Multivariate analyses showed that the microvessel type was an independent risk factor for DFS (P = 0.016) and OS (P = 0.004) of this cohort. Capillary-like microvessels were more common in small HCC, and were significantly associated with higher microvessel density, while sinusoid-like microvessels were significantly correlated with lower microvessel density.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of our study suggested that the microvessel type is an effective predictor of survival in patients with HCC after resection, which might serve as potential novel therapeutic targets for prevention of the recurrence of HCC after resection.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Oncology in Southern China Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Cancer Center of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Zhi Y
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Zhi X
authors.initials: ZX
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Jia R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Rong P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Guo
mesh_terms: D018952:Antigens, CD34 / Q000032:analysis; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis; D002196:Capillaries / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology*; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002681:China; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006498:Hepatectomy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000401:mortality; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology*; D016612:Paraffin Embedding; D019408:Platelet Endothelial Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 / Q000032:analysis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011446:Prospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D015996:Survival Rate; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D018952:Antigens, CD34; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D019408:Platelet Endothelial Cell Adhesion Molecule-1