Effect of aminolevulinic acid-based photodynamic therapy on expression of vascular endothelial growth factor and proliferating cell nuclear antigen in condyloma acuminatum tissues

Objective To evaluate the effect of aminolevulinic acid-based photodynamic therapy (ALA-PDT) on the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) in condyloma acuminatum (CA) tissues. Methods A total of 56 patients with CA were enrolled from Department of Dermatology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from October 2016 to September 2017, and skin lesions were obtained before and 1 week after the first ALA-PDT treatment. Immunohistochemical SP method was used to determine the expression of VEGF and PCNA in keratinocytes in the CA tissues. Chi-square test and rank sum test were carried out to analyze differences between pre- and post-treatment expression rate and intensity of VEGF and PCNA, and Spearman correlation analysis was conducted to analyze the correlations between the protein expression of VEGF and PCNA. Results The expression rates of VEGF and PCNA in keratinocytes in the CA tissues were 71.43% (40/56) and 73.21% (41/56) respectively before ALA-PDT, and 44.64% (25/56) and 41.07% (23/46) respectively after ALA-PDT. There were significant differences between pre- and post-treatment expression rate and intensity of VEGF and PCNA (expression rate: χ2 = 8.25, 11.81 respectively, both P < 0.05; expression intensity: H = 11.29, 12.22 respectively, both P < 0.05) . The expression of VEGF was positively correlated with the expression of PCNA in the CA tissues before and after the ALA-PDT treatment (rs = 0.202, 0.273, respectively, both P < 0.05) . Conclusion The expression of VEGF and PCNA decreased in CA tissues after ALA-PDT treatment, which may be one of the mechanisms underlying the treatment of CA with ALA-PDT. Key words: Condylomata acuminata; Photochemotherapy; Aminolevulinic acid; Vascular endothelial growth factors; Proliferating cell nuclear antigen