title: VEGFR-2 expression in malignant tumours of the canine mammary gland: a prospective survival study.
abstract: Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) is the main receptor activated by vascular endothelial growth factor -A (VEGF-A) to promote tumour angiogenesis. Its clinical prognostic value has not been studied in canine mammary tumours (CMTs). Dogs with mammary cancer were enrolled in a survival study and the immunohistochemical expressions of VEGFR-2 and VEGF-A were analysed and associated with clinicopathological features. VEGFR-2 expression was associated with VEGF immunoreactivity in cancer cells, supporting the presence of an autocrine loop that may be involved in CMTs growth and survival. VEGFR-2 was also expressed by endothelial cells from tumour vasculature and positively associated with stromal matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), suggesting the existence of a link between endothelial cells activation and up-regulation of matrix degrading proteins. Carcinosarcomas exhibited high VEGFR-2 expression suggesting that it may be one of the activated molecular pathways in this aggressive histological type and that VEGFR-2 inhibitors may constitute a potential treatment to improve the prognosis of these patients. Both VEGF and VEGFR-2 immunoreactivities were independent of patients' overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS).
authors: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University Lusófona of Humanites and Technologies, Lisbon, Portugal.
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Santos
authors: Department of Molecular Pathology and Immunology, Biomedical Sciences Institute of Abel Salazar (ICBAS), University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
authors: C
authors: C
authors: Lopes
authors: Department of Molecular Pathology and Immunology, Biomedical Sciences Institute of Abel Salazar (ICBAS), University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.|Institute of Molecular Pathology and Immunology of the University of Porto (IPATIMUP), Porto, Portugal.
authors: F
authors: F
authors: Gärtner
authors: Department of Veterinary Clinics, Biomedical Sciences Institute of Abel Salazar (ICBAS), University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.|Animal Science and Study Centre/Food and Agrarian Sciences and Technologies Institute (CECA/ICETA), University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
authors: A J F
authors: AJ
authors: Matos
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000378:metabolism / Q000662:veterinary; D002296:Carcinosarcoma / Q000378:metabolism / Q000662:veterinary; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000378:metabolism*; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic / Q000502:physiology*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry / Q000662:veterinary; D015674:Mammary Neoplasms, Animal / Q000378:metabolism*; D016019:Survival Analysis; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D040301:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-2 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; D040301:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-2
keywords: VEGF; VEGFR-2; cancer; canine; carcinosarcomas; mammary