VEGF-C表达与胰腺癌淋巴结转移及预后的关系

目的 观察血管内皮生长因子(VEGF)-C在胰腺癌组织内的表达情况,分析VEGF-C的表达与胰腺癌淋巴结转移和预后之间的关系。方法 取胰腺癌病例52例,其中,伴淋巴结转移组36例,无淋巴结转移组16例。应用免疫组化法和Western blot技术观察VEGF-C在胰腺癌组织内的表达。以D2-40作为淋巴管内皮特异性标记物,观察胰腺癌组织内淋巴管生成的情况。采用Kaplan-Meier法绘制生存曲线判断VEGF-C的表达对胰腺癌预后的影响。结果 Western blot和免疫组化法检测结果表明,VEGF-C主要表达于胰腺癌细胞浆内,淋巴结转移组阳性表达量明显高于无淋巴结转移组(p<0.05)。D2-40表达于胰腺癌组织内淋巴管内皮细胞,VEGF-C阳性组淋巴管数密度明显高于VEGF-C阴性组(p<0.05),表明VEGF-C的表达与胰腺癌淋巴管生成密切相关。Kaplan-Meier生存分析表明VEGF-C表达阴性患者的生存率均高于VEGF-C表达阳性患者,VEGF-C的表达影响患者的预后。结论 VEGF-C在胰腺癌的淋巴管生成和淋巴结转移过程中发挥重要作用,VEGF-C的表达是影响胰腺癌患者预后的主要因素之一。

Correlation of VEGF-C expression with lymph node metastasis and prognosis in pancreatic cancer

Objective To investigate the relationship of vascular endothelial growth factor C （VEGF-C） expression with lymph node metastasis and prognosis in pancreatic cancer. Methods Fifty-two specimens of the pancreatic cancer patients diagnosed pathologically were divided into lymph node metastatic group （n=36） and nonmetastatic group （n=16）. The expression of VEGF-C was detected by immunohistochemstry and Western blot. D2-40 was used as the specific lymphatic endothelial marker for detecting lymphatic vessels in pancreatic cancer. The expression of VEGF-C with prognosis was determined by Kaplan-Meier method. Results VEGF-C protein positive product was observed in cytoplasm of tumor cells, the expression levels of VEGF-C were significantly higher in lymph node metastatic group than in nonmetastatic group （p〈0.05） by immunohistochemistry and Western blot. D2-40 specifically expressed in lymphatic endothelium in pancreatic cancer, the lymphatic vessel number density （LVD） was significantly higher in VEGF-C positive group than in VEGF-C negative group （P〈0.05）, indicating that VEGF-C expression was closely correlated with lymphangiogenesis in pancreatic cancer. Kaplan-Meier analyses proved that the survival rate in VEGF-C negative group were higher than that in VEGF-C positive group. Conclusion VEGF-C plays an important role in tumor lymphangiogenesis and lymph node metastasis in pancreatic cancer, could be a factor in evaluating the prognosis of patient with pancreatic cancer.