VEGF and Tumor Progression in Gastric Cancer
Intratumoral microvessels1
Intratumoral microvessels were highlighted by immunostaining with anti-Factor VIII related antigen polyclonal antibody.1
Reprinted with permission from Zhao HC, Qin R, Chen XX, et al. World J Gastroenterol. 2006;12:7598-7603. Figure 2.
The research by Zhao and colleagues into VEGF and microvessel density (MVD) examined specimens from 67 patients with gastric cancer who had undergone radical gastrectomy between 1997 and 2000. Patients with prior chemotherapy or radiotherapy were excluded. Mean follow-up time was 34 months (range 16 days to 60 months).1
The relationship between VEGF expression and the growth of microvessels in gastric tumors was significant (P=0.008). MVD was elevated by 46% in VEGF-positive specimens compared with VEGF-negative specimens.1 MVD as well as lymph node metastasis were found to be independent risk factors for survival by multivariate survival analysis. High MVD was significantly associated with lymph node metastasis (P=0.003) and poor survival in gastric cancer (P<0.001).1
Maeda et al examined the correlation between VEGF expression and the prognosis of gastric cancer. Resected specimens from 129 patients who underwent gastrectomy were studied; none had preoperative chemotherapy or radiotherapy. All patients were observed for at least 5 years after surgery. Immunohistochemical staining was used to detect VEGF in tumor cells. Microvessels were stained with anti-Factor VIII related antigen monoclonal antibodies.2
Correlation between microvessel count and VEGF expression2
Correlation between microvessel count and VEGF expression. Closed circles represent mean values of microvessel count. A total of 129 patients were studied in the analysis that included 95 male and 34 female participants. The average age of the study population was 59.3 years.
The microvessel count in VEGF-positive tumors was significantly higher than in VEGF-negative tumors (P<0.01).2 VEGF-positive tumors were significantly correlated with lymph node metastases (P<0.01), lymphatic invasion (P<0.05), venous invasion (P<0.05), and liver metastasis (P<0.01).2
The finding of pronounced neovascularization in VEGF-positive tumors suggests that an enhanced vascular supply increases the risk of metastases. In addition, the expression of VEGF was significantly associated with vessel involvement and lymph node and liver metastases.2 Specifically, the frequency of hepatic metastases was significantly higher in VEGF-positive tumors than in VEGF-negative tumors (P<0.05).2
Reprinted with permission from Maeda K, Chung YS, Ogawa Y, et al. Cancer. 1996;77:858-863.
Figure 2.
References:
- 1.
- Zhao HC, Qin R, Chen XX, et al. World J Gastroenterol. 2006;12:7598-7603. PMID: 17171787
- 2.
- Maeda K, Chung YS, Ogawa Y, et al. Cancer. 1996;77:858-863. PMID: 8608475