VEGF-C在乳腺癌中的表达及与淋巴管生成的关系

摘要

Objective To investigate the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor-C (VEGF-C) and lymph vessel density (LVD) in human breast cancer and the correlation with clinicopathologic findings. Method Forty-six primary breast cancer specimens were immunohistochemically examined for VEGF-C and LVD, and then the correlation with clinicopathologic findings was retrospectively analyzed. Results The expression rate of VEGF-C in human breast carcinoma was 58.7％ (27/46). It showed significant correlations of the positive rate of VEGF-C among the tumor size(P =0. 006) and the lymph node metastasis (P =0.01 ). A significant correlation was found between the expression of VEGF-C and LVD in human breast cancer (P ＜ 0. 05 ). Conclusion A positive correlation is found between the expression of VEGF-C and LVD in breast cancer, which suggest that the expression of VEGF-C may promote lymph metastasis.%目的 探讨血管内皮生长因子-C(vascular endothelial growth factor-C,VEGF-C)在乳腺癌组织中的表达、临床意义及其与淋巴管生成的关系.方法应用免疫组化检测乳腺癌组织及良性腺瘤组织中VEGF-C的表达情况,用淋巴管特异性标志物D2-40标记淋巴管并计数,分析两者之间的相关性,并结合临床病理资料进行统计分析.结果 VEGF-C在乳腺癌组织中的表达率为58.7%(27/46),其表达与肿瘤大小(P=0.006)、淋巴结转移相关(P=0.01),与年龄、雌、孕激素受体表达、Her-2表达情况及临床分期无相关性;淋巴管密度(LVD)与临床分期(P=0.01)和淋巴结转移(P=0.001)呈正相关性;VEGF-C的表达与淋巴管生成有显著相关性(P<0.05).结论 VEGF-C的表达与淋巴管密度存在显著的相关性,提示VEGF-C可能通过信号传导途径促进肿瘤淋巴管的生成,进而诱导淋巴结转移的发生.