title: Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor isoforms: are they present in oral squamous cell carcinoma?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Although the clinical importance of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) overexpression in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) has been investigated, there are limited data about the overexpression of VEGF receptors (VEGF-Rs) and their clinical importance. VEGF-R isoforms have proven influence on proliferation rates, metastasis, and survival in different neoplasms. This study was conducted to investigate VEGF-R expression levels in OSCC samples and to identify any clinical relevance.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective cohort study design (n = 50) was used. Clinical data were gathered from patient charts. Validated immunohistochemical methods were applied to determine VEGF-R isoform expression by tumor cells. Descriptive and inferential statistics with respect to the variable scale were computed. The significance level was set at a P value less than or equal to .05.
  
  
  RESULTS
  This study found overexpression of different VEGF-R isoforms in 88% of examined specimens. Statistically important associations were detected between overexpression of specific VEGF-Rs and tumor size, neck node metastasis, and tumor-associated death. Furthermore, a history of common OSCC risk factors (smoking and alcohol consumption) were found considerably more often in patients whose OSCC specimens displayed VEGF-R overexpression.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings show that VEGF-R overexpression occurs frequently in OSCC and could have clinical implications.
authors.affiliation: Graduate Student, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Alix
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pianka
authors.affiliation: Associate Professor, Department of Pathology, Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Knösel
authors.affiliation: Resident, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Florian Andreas
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Probst
authors.affiliation: Resident, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Georg - August University of Göttingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Troeltzsch
authors.affiliation: Medical Oncologist, Division of Medical Oncology and Hematology, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester; and Unity Health System, Rochester, NY.
authors.forename: Timothy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Woodlock
authors.affiliation: Associate Professor, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Sven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Otto
authors.affiliation: Professor and Department Chair, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ehrenfeld
authors.affiliation: Resident, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, Munich, Germany. Electronic address: matthias_troeltzsch@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Troeltzsch
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism*; D020033:Protein Isoforms / Q000378:metabolism*; D040262:Receptors, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor / Q000378:metabolism*; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D020033:Protein Isoforms; D040262:Receptors, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor