title: Correlation between serum levels of vascular endothelial growth factor-C and sentinel lymph node status in early breast cancer.
abstract: Axillary lymph nodes status is the most important prognosis factor in early breast cancer. This status is known by a selective sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) and/or lymphadenectomy. Immunohistochemical studies of breast cancer tumour tissue have reported a relation between the increased expression of vascular endothelial growth factor-C (VEGF-C) and the risk of lymph node metastasis. We researched whether serum levels of VEGF-C could be a predictor factor of sentinel lymph node status in these patients. A prospective analysis was performed on serum from 174 patients with early breast cancer who underwent SLNB. The level of VEGF-C was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Clinical-pathologic variables were collected. Univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression were conducted, taking SLNB positivity as the segmentation variable. The predictive value of VEGF-C was assessed using ROC curves. Of the sample group of 167 patients, 64 (38.3 %) had affected lymph node. Eighteen patients (28.1 %) presented micrometastasis; there were isolated tumour cells in 11 cases (17.2 %) and macrometastasis in 35 (54.6 %). The median value of VEGF-C was 6561.5 pg/ml. These values did not correlate with any clinical variables, and there was no association between the level of VEGF-C and SLNB status (p = 0.626). In the multivariate analysis, tumour size (p = 0.009) and the presence of vascular invasion (p < 0.001) were independently associated with sentinel lymph node affected. Serum levels of VEGF-C do not appear to predict sentinel lymph node status in patients with early breast cancer who undergo SLNB.
authors.affiliation: Oncology Department, Hospital Costa del Sol, Autovia A-7, Km 187, CP 29603, Marbella, Spain.
authors.forename: Diego
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pérez
authors.affiliation: Obstetrics-Gynecology Department, Hospital Costa del Sol, Marbella, Spain.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rohde
authors.affiliation: Molecular Biology Laboratory, Hospital Costa del Sol, Marbella, Spain.
authors.forename: Gonzalo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Callejón
authors.affiliation: Oncology Department, Hospital Costa del Sol, Autovia A-7, Km 187, CP 29603, Marbella, Spain. elperu@hcs.es.
authors.forename: Elisabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pérez-Ruiz
authors.affiliation: Pathological Anatomy Department, Hospital Costa del Sol, Marbella, Spain.
authors.forename: Isabel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Rodrigo
authors.affiliation: Department for Support Research: Statistical Analysis, Hospital Costa del Sol, Marbella, Spain.
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rivas-Ruiz
authors.affiliation: Radiology Department, Hospital Costa del Sol, Marbella, Spain.
authors.forename: Belen
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ramos
authors.affiliation: Surgery Department, Hospital Costa del Sol, Marbella, Spain.
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Medina
authors.affiliation: Oncology Department, Hospital Costa del Sol, Autovia A-7, Km 187, CP 29603, Marbella, Spain.
authors.forename: Rosa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Villatoro
authors.affiliation: Molecular Biology Laboratory, Hospital Costa del Sol, Marbella, Spain.
authors.forename: Maximino
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Redondo
authors.affiliation: Oncology Department, Hospital Costa del Sol, Autovia A-7, Km 187, CP 29603, Marbella, Spain.
authors.forename: Irene
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Zarcos
authors.affiliation: Obstetrics-Gynecology Department, Hospital Costa del Sol, Marbella, Spain.
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Maañón
authors.affiliation: Oncology Department, Hospital Costa del Sol, Autovia A-7, Km 187, CP 29603, Marbella, Spain.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rueda
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001365:Axilla / Q000473:pathology; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000473:pathology*; D042583:Lymphangiogenesis / Q000235:genetics*; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D021701:Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy; D042582:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor C / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: C467486:VEGFC protein, human; D042582:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor C
keywords: Breast cancer; Lymphangiogenesis; Predicting factor; Serum VEGF-C