VEGF—C和Flt-4在舌鳞癌组织中的表达及其临床意义

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: Vascular endothelial growth factor-C (VEGF-C) could induce lymphangiogenesis in or around solid tumor, and is closely related with lymphatic metastasis. This study was to investigate the expression and clinical significance of VEGF-C and its receptor fms-like tyrosine kinase-4 (Flt-4) in tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC). METHODS: The expression of VEGF-C and Flt-4 in 99 specimens of TSCC and 17 specimens of benign tongue epithelial lesions was detected by LSAB immunohistochemistry. The correlations of expression of VEGF-C and Flt-4 to the clincopathologic features and prognosis of TSCC were analyzed. RESULTS: The positive rates of VEGF-C and Flt-4 were significantly higher in TSCC than in benign tongue epithelial lesion (35.35% vs. 5.88%, and 40.40% vs. 5.88%, P＜0.05). The positive rate of VEGF-C was significantly higher in TSCC with cervical lymph node metastasis than in TSCC without metastasis (43.75% vs. 20%, P＜0.05), and significantly lower in stage Ⅰ-Ⅱ TSCC than in stage Ⅲ-Ⅳ TSCC (18.52% vs. 41.67%, P＜0.05). The cumulative 5-year survival rates of the patients with positive expression of either VEGF-C or Flt-4 were significantly lower than those of the patients with negative expression of either VEGF-C or Flt-4 (45.08% vs. 68.25%, and 38.03% vs. 75.46%, P＜0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The positive rates of VEGF-C and Flt-4 are significantly higher in TSCC than in benign tongue epithelial lesions. The expression of VEGF-C is correlated with cervical lymph node metastasis and clinical stage. The prognosis of TSCC patients with high expression of VEGF-C and Flt-4 is poor.