Objective： To explore the role of vascular endothelial growth factor-C （VEGF-C） in the process of angiogenesis, lymphangiogenesis and lymphatic metastasis in epithelial ovarian tumors. Methods： In situ hybridizati...Objective： To explore the role of vascular endothelial growth factor-C （VEGF-C） in the process of angiogenesis, lymphangiogenesis and lymphatic metastasis in epithelial ovarian tumors. Methods： In situ hybridization and immunohistochemical staining for VEGF-C were performed in 30 epithelial ovarian carcinomas, 9 borderline tumors and 26 benign tumors. Endothelial cells were immunostained with anti-VEGFR-3 pAb and anti-CD31 mAb, and VEGFR-3 positive vessels and microvessel density （MVD） were assessed by image analysis. Results： VEGF-C mRNA and protein expression were detected in cytoplasm of carcinoma cells. VEGF-C mRNA and protein expression in ovarian epithelial carcinomas were significantly higher than those in borderline tumors and benign tumors （P〈0.05 or P〈0.01）. In ovarian epithelial carcinomas, VEGF-C protein expression, VEGFR-3 positive vessels and MVD were significantly higher in the cases of clinical stage Ⅲ-Ⅳ and with lymph node metastasis than those of clinical stage Ⅰ-Ⅱ and without lymph node metastasis respectively （P〈0.05 or P〈0.01）. VEGFR-3 positive vessels and MVD were significantly higher in VEGF-C protein positive tumors than negative tumors （P〈0.05）. VEGFR-3 positive vessels was significantly correlated with MVD（P〈0.01）. Conclusion： VEGF-C might play a role in lymphatic metastasis via lymphangiogenesis and angiogenesis in epithelial ovarian tumors, and VBEGF-C could be used as a biologic marker of metastasis in ovarian epithelial tumors.展开更多
文摘Objective： To explore the role of vascular endothelial growth factor-C （VEGF-C） in the process of angiogenesis, lymphangiogenesis and lymphatic metastasis in epithelial ovarian tumors. Methods： In situ hybridization and immunohistochemical staining for VEGF-C were performed in 30 epithelial ovarian carcinomas, 9 borderline tumors and 26 benign tumors. Endothelial cells were immunostained with anti-VEGFR-3 pAb and anti-CD31 mAb, and VEGFR-3 positive vessels and microvessel density （MVD） were assessed by image analysis. Results： VEGF-C mRNA and protein expression were detected in cytoplasm of carcinoma cells. VEGF-C mRNA and protein expression in ovarian epithelial carcinomas were significantly higher than those in borderline tumors and benign tumors （P〈0.05 or P〈0.01）. In ovarian epithelial carcinomas, VEGF-C protein expression, VEGFR-3 positive vessels and MVD were significantly higher in the cases of clinical stage Ⅲ-Ⅳ and with lymph node metastasis than those of clinical stage Ⅰ-Ⅱ and without lymph node metastasis respectively （P〈0.05 or P〈0.01）. VEGFR-3 positive vessels and MVD were significantly higher in VEGF-C protein positive tumors than negative tumors （P〈0.05）. VEGFR-3 positive vessels was significantly correlated with MVD（P〈0.01）. Conclusion： VEGF-C might play a role in lymphatic metastasis via lymphangiogenesis and angiogenesis in epithelial ovarian tumors, and VBEGF-C could be used as a biologic marker of metastasis in ovarian epithelial tumors.
