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Expression of VEGF ‐ D in epithelial ovarian cancer and its relationship to lymphatic metastasis
Author(s) -
He Lixia,
He Junyong,
Zhao Xia
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
asia‐pacific journal of clinical oncology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.73
H-Index - 29
eISSN - 1743-7563
pISSN - 1743-7555
DOI - 10.1111/ajco.12086
Subject(s) - lymphangiogenesis , lymphatic vessel , immunohistochemistry , lymphatic system , pathology , ovarian cancer , lymph node , metastasis , vascular endothelial growth factor , lymphatic endothelium , medicine , lymph , vascular endothelial growth factor c , cancer , vascular endothelial growth factor a , cancer research , vegf receptors
Aim To investigate the contribution of vascular endothelial growth factor ( VEGF )‐ D to tumor progression, tumor lymphangiogenesis and lymphatic metastasis in epithelial ovarian cancer. Methods The expression profiles of VEGF ‐ D in 18 benign, 14 borderline and 87 malignant epithelial ovarian cancers were examined using immunohistochemical ( IHC ) staining. Lymphatic vessels were identified using IHC staining on lymphatic vessel endothelial hyaluronan receptor‐1 ( LYVE ‐1), which is a lymph‐specific receptor for hyaluronan in identifying lymphatic vessels. The potential correlation among VEGF ‐ D , lymphatic vessel density ( LVD ) and clinico‐pathological factors of the epithelial ovarian cancer was also analyzed. Results Positive IHC staining of VEGF ‐ D was observed in 17% of benign, 21% of borderline and 80% of malignant epithelial ovarian tumors specimens. In the epithelial ovarian cancer specimens, the LVD was 3.41 ± 2.37 in the VEGF ‐ D negative (17 patients), 5.42 ± 3.49 in the weak (26 patients), 7.22 ± 2.36 in the moderate (27 patients) and 7.35 ± 4.06 in the strong (17 patients) groups, respectively. Additionally, the expression of VEGF ‐ D was positively correlated with LVD (r = 0.415, P < 0.001). The expression level of VEGF ‐ D was significantly higher in lymph node‐positive epithelial ovarian cancer than in lymph node‐negative patients ( P = 0.009, P < 0.05). The expression of VEGF ‐ D was significantly correlated with lymph node metastasis, I nternational F ederation of G ynecology and O bstetrics stage and tumor histological differentiation, but not with the patients' age or histology type. Conclusion VEGF ‐ D may play an important role in the process of lymphatic metastasis of epithelial ovarian cancer.