Prognostic significance of vascular endothelial growth factor D in breast carcinoma with long-term follow-up.

Abstract

PURPOSE:

Expression of angiogenic and lymphangiogenic factors by tumors may influence the route of metastatic spread. The angiogenic factor vascular endothelial growth D (VEGF-D) is implicated in the development of lymphatic vessels and promotion of lymphatic metastases. The purpose of this study is to determine whether VEGF-D correlates with lymph node metastasis or prognosis.

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN:

We assessed VEGF-D expression using immunohistochemistry in 105 invasive breast carcinomas with long-term follow-up. The relationship among VEGF-D expression, lymph node status, and other established clinicopathological parameters was assessed. Whether VEGF-D expression plays prognostic role in breast cancer was also investigated.

RESULTS:

VEGF-D expression was identified in 86 cases (81.9%). Positive VEGF-D was significantly correlated with lymph node metastasis (P = 0.0238) and high c-erbB-2 expression (P = 0.0211). Survival curves determined by the Kaplan-Meier method and univariate analysis demonstrated that positive VEGF-D was associated with both disease-free survival (P = 0.0023) and overall survival (P = 0.0222). In multivariate analysis using the Cox regression model, positive emerged as an independent indicator for disease-free survival (P = 0.0452).

CONCLUSIONS:

VEGF-D expression is associated with lymph node metastasis and may be a novel prognostic factor in breast cancer. VEGF-D may be useful in the treatment of breast cancer as a decision-making biomarker for aggressive treatment after operation.

• Authors: Yasushi Nakamura, Hironao Yasuoka, Masahiko Tsujimoto, Qifeng Yang, Shigeru Imabun, Masaaki Nakahara, Kazuyasu Nakao, Misa Nakamura, Ichiro Mori, Kennichi Kakudo
• Journal: Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research (Clin Cancer Res) Vol. 9 Issue 2 Pg. 716-21 (Feb 2003) ISSN: 1078-0432 [Print] United States
• PMID: 12576440 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Endothelial Growth Factors
• Receptors, Estrogen
• Receptors, Progesterone
• Tumor Suppressor Protein p53
• Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor D
• Receptor, ErbB-2

Topics

• Adult
• Age Distribution
• Aged
• Aged, 80 and over
• Analysis of Variance
• Breast Neoplasms (mortality, pathology, surgery)
• Disease-Free Survival
• Endothelial Growth Factors (analysis, genetics)
• Female
• Follow-Up Studies
• Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic
• Humans
• Immunohistochemistry
• Lymphatic Metastasis
• Middle Aged
• Multivariate Analysis
• Prognosis
• Receptor, ErbB-2 (analysis)
• Receptors, Estrogen (analysis)
• Receptors, Progesterone (analysis)
• Retrospective Studies
• Survival Analysis
• Time Factors
• Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 (analysis)
• Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor D