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Quantification of VEGF‐C expression in canine mammary tumours
Author(s) -
Qiu C,
LIN DD,
Wang HH,
Qiao CH,
Wang J,
Zhang T
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
australian veterinary journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.382
H-Index - 59
eISSN - 1751-0813
pISSN - 0005-0423
DOI - 10.1111/j.1751-0813.2008.00312.x
Subject(s) - mammary gland , metastasis , pathology , medicine , lymph node , vascular endothelial growth factor , cancer , biology , vegf receptors , cancer research , breast cancer
Background Tumours release angiogenic factors such as vascular endothelium growth factor (VEGF), which induces growth of a capillary network around the tumour. Elevated concentrations of VEGF have been reported in human mammary gland tumours. Methods To evaluate the expression of VEGF‐C mRNA in canine mammary tissue, 38 mammary gland tumours (including 15 benign and 23 malignant mammary tumours), and 4 normal mammary glands were investigated by real‐time reverse transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Results VEGF‐C expression in the malignant mammary tumours was much higher than in the benign mammary tumours or normal mammary tissue (P < 0.001). The expression of VEGF‐C in tumours with lymph node metastasis was much higher than in those without (P < 0.01). Conclusion The level of expression of VEGF‐C did not correlate with tumour size or the patient's age, but was significantly higher in malignant mammary tumours and related to lymph node metastasis, making it a candidate marker for predicting metastasis of canine mammary cancer.