Abnormalities of the Wnt/β-catenin signalling pathway induce tumour progression in sporadic desmoid tumours: correlation between β-catenin widespread nuclear expression and VEGF overexpression.
OBJECTIVE
To analyse the correlation between β-catenin and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in sporadic desmoid tumours.


RESULTS
The correlation between β-catenin aberrant expression and VEGF overexpression was examined and microvessel density (MVD) assessed by immunohistochemical expression of CD31 in 74 samples (63 primary and 11 recurrent samples, 63 patients) of sporadic desmoid tumours without familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP). β-catenin gene mutation and mRNA expression of VEGF was then examined by quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). There was a statistically significant correlation between widespread nuclear expression of β-catenin and overexpression of VEGF in all desmoid tumours (P = 0.04, Fisher's exact test). MVD in recurrent tumours was significantly higher than that in primary tumours.


CONCLUSIONS
Abnormalities of β-catenin and VEGF overexpression play an important role in the neoplastic progression of sporadic desmoid tumours.
Department of Anatomic Pathology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
Hiroshi
H
Matono
Sadafumi
S
Tamiya
Ryohei
R
Yokoyama
Tsuyoshi
T
Saito
Yukihide
Y
Iwamoto
Masazumi
M
Tsuneyoshi
Yoshinao
Y
Oda
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000378:metabolism; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D018222:Desmoid Tumors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015398:Signal Transduction; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D051153:Wnt Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D055815:Young Adult; D051176:beta Catenin / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*
C495270:CTNNB1 protein, human; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; D051153:Wnt Proteins; D051176:beta Catenin