乙酰肝素酶、E-cadherin、N-cadherin和vimentin蛋白在胃癌中的表达及其意义

目的： 探讨人胃癌组织中乙酰肝素酶（HPA）、上皮标志物E-cadherin、间质标志物N-cadherin和vimentin蛋白的表达及其与人胃癌临床病理指标的关系，以及HPA与E-cadherin、N-cadherin、vimentin蛋白之间的关系。方法： 应用免疫组织化学方法检测91例人胃癌组织中HPA、E-cadherin、N-cadherin和vimentin蛋白表达情况；采用卡方检验，检测这几种蛋白阳性表达率与人胃癌不同病理指标的关系；同时采用Spearman等级相关分析HPA与E-cadherin、N-cadherin、vimentin蛋白之间的关系。结果： 人胃癌组织中HPA、E-cadherin、N-cadherin和vimentin蛋白阳性表达率为75.82%、51.65%、54.95%和23.08%。91例人胃癌组织中HPA、E-cadherin、N-cadherin和vimentin蛋白的阳性表达率与胃癌患者年龄、性别、胃癌大小均无明显相关（P > 0.05），而与人胃癌发生部位、分化程度和有无淋巴结转移、侵袭程度有关（P < 0.05）。HPA、N-cadherin和vimentin蛋白在贲门部阳性表达率明显高于胃体、幽门及胃窦胃癌；低分化者、有淋巴结转移者和胃癌侵袭深处这3种蛋白阳性表达率明显高于高分化者、无淋巴结转移者和胃癌起始部位；E-cadherin蛋白在幽门及胃窦部胃癌阳性表达率明显高于贲门和胃体胃癌；高中分化者、无淋巴结转移者明显高于低分化者和有淋巴结转移者。E-cadherin蛋白阳性表达率在侵袭深处明显低于起始部位。经Spearman等级相关分析显示，人胃癌组织中HPA与E-cadherin蛋白的阳性表达率呈负相关（r=-0.341，P < 0.05）；而与N-cadherin（r=0.366，P < 0.05）和vimentin（r=0.284，P < 0.05）蛋白阳性表达率呈正相关。结论： 人胃癌组织中HPA、N-cadherin和vimentin蛋白在低分化者、有淋巴结转移者和胃癌侵袭深处高表达；E-cadherin蛋白在高中分化胃癌，无淋巴结转移者和起始部位高表达。HPA与N-cadherin、vimentin蛋白阳性表达率呈正相关，HPA与E-cadherin蛋白的阳性表达率呈负相关，可见HPA蛋白与间质标志物N-cadherin和vimentin蛋白表达增强有关，而与上皮标志物E-cadherin蛋白缺失或减少有关，因此HPA可能诱导人胃癌组织发生上皮间质转化。     

Analyses of protein extracts of human breast cancers: changes in glycoprotein content linked to the malignant phenotype

The protein and glycoprotein composition of Triton X-100 extracts of breast biopsies from 17 women with benign breast disease and from 11 women with invasive breast carcinoma were investigated using electrophoresis in SDS-containing gradient polyacrylamide gels, followed by Coomassie Blue (CB) staining and the binding of radio-iodinated wheat germ agglutinin (WGA). Patterns were analysed after the CB-step for differences in protein composition, and after the WGA-step for differences in glycoprotein composition. Tissue extracts from patients with benign breast disease have less CB stained bands than similar extracts from the cancer patients. A particular consistent change was the appearance of an extra band at 58 Kdaltons in the cancer extracts. In contrast to the CB results, WGA detected less major bands, in the 40-60 Kd region, in the cancer extracts than at similar locations in benign extracts. Analysis of blood sera using the above techniques suggested that certain serum proteins could account for some of the WGA changes, but not the changes after CB staining. However, residual contamination of the specimens by blood proteins seemed unlikely because of the washing procedure used, unless these components were very strongly associated with the tissue. Differential synthesis of serum proteins by benign and malignant breast tissue may also explain some of our findings. Examination of the histopathology adjacent to the extracted tissue suggested that the degree of reduction in WGA-binding may be related to the extent of local invasiveness. Other animal and human studies suggest that reduced glycosylation of tumour-associated proteins may be linked to increased malignancy. The current findings may reflect a general pattern of change in tumour glycoprotein composition linked to malignant expression.     

LIN28A、 E-cadherin和 vimentin在浸润性乳腺癌中的表达及其临床意义

目的：研究RNA结合蛋白LIN28A、上皮间质转化相关因子E-cadherin和vimentin在浸润性乳腺癌中的表达及三者的相关性,探讨其对乳腺癌进展的影响。方法：收集40例浸润性乳腺癌组织标本及其对应的癌旁组织,实时荧光定量PCR（qPCR）和免疫组织化学法分别检测LIN28A、E-cadherin和vimentin的mRNA和蛋白的表达,分析其与临床病理指标之间的关系,TUNNEL法检测LIN28A阳性癌组织中的细胞凋亡情况,统计分析LIN28A和EMT相关蛋白之间的相关性及其与乳腺癌患者生存率之间的关系。结果：qPCR结果显示,LIN28A mRNA在乳腺癌组织中的相对表达水平高于癌旁组织,其与E-cadherin mRNA的表达水平呈负相关,与vimentin mRNA呈正相关（r依次=-0.340和0.380,P均 < 0.05）。免疫组织化学检测结果显示,在乳腺癌组织中,LIN28A、E-cadherin和vimentin蛋白表达率分别为60%、55%和65%。LIN28A蛋白的表达与E-cadherin蛋白呈负相关（r依次=-0.533和0.364,P均 < 0.05）,与vimentin蛋白呈正相关。LIN28A蛋白表达与肿瘤大小、病理分级和淋巴结转移有关。TUNEL检测结果显示,LIN28A蛋白表达阳性的乳腺癌组织中凋亡细胞率低于与癌旁组织（P < 0.05）。Kaplan-Meier生存分析显示,乳腺癌组织LIN28A蛋白表达阳性患者的生存率低于LIN28A蛋白表达阴性者（P < 0.05）。结论：RNA结合蛋白LIN28A可能通过EMT促进乳腺癌的进展和转移,并且LIN28A高表达可能影响乳腺癌患者的预后。     

DNA ploidy and helix pomatia lectin binding as predictors of regional lymph node metastases and prognostic factors in breast cancer

Summary This study was designed to evaluate whether DNA ploidy and/orHelix pomatia lectin (HPA) staining would be useful for predicting regional lymph node metastases and patients' prognosis in 106 patients with invasive breast cancer. The combination of DNA ploidy and HPA staining correlated better with regional lymph node metastases than DNA aneuploidy or HPA staining alone. DNA ploidy and HPA staining in combination correlated strongly with overall and disease-free survival by univariate analysis. However, the prognostic significance of DNA ploidy and HPA staining in combination was lost in multivariate analysis when regional lymph node metastases were introduced into the models. This emphasized the relationship in survival between regional lymph node metastases and the combination of DNA ploidy and HPA staining. We therefore concluded that the combination of DNA ploidy and HPA staining might provide prognostic information for breast cancer patients in whom regional lymph node dissection has not been performed.     

Low expression of RECK indicates a shorter survival for patients with invasive breast cancer

Expression cloning was used to initially isolate the reversion-inducing cysteine-rich protein with Kazal motifs (RECK) gene as a suppressor of transformation. The gene was found to encode a membrane-anchored regulator of MMPs. Experimental studies showed that RECK can suppress tumor invasion, metastasis, and angiogenesis. However, the clinical impact of RECK remains unclear. To assess the clinical significance of RECK expression in invasive breast cancer, a total of 119 patients with invasive breast cancer were retrospectively examined. Expression of RECK in tumor tissues was assessed by immunohistochemical staining. A significant correlation between RECK expression and 5-year survival rate was documented. The 5-year survival rate for patients with strong RECK expression was significantly higher than that for patients with weakly expressing tumors. Univariate and multivariate analyses confirmed that reduced RECK expression was an independent and significant factor in predicting a poor prognosis. In conclusion, RECK expression is a significant prognostic factor correlated with long-term survival for patients with invasive breast cancer. RECK expression is therefore a potentially useful prognostic marker for breast cancer.     

Urokinase and macrophages in tumour angiogenesis.

Recent studies have shown that elevated levels of urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) and plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI-1) in breast cancer correlate with an increased risk of a reduced relapse-free survival time and shortened overall survival times. Urokinase PA and PAI-1 are independent prognostic indicators for breast cancer. The fact that plasminogen activators are indispensable for tube formation of microvascular cells and that they may induce angiogenesis in vitro strongly suggests a role for uPA and PAI-1 in tumour neovascularisation. Because macrophages and tumour cells produce uPA, we postulate a close collaboration between tumour cells and tumour-associated macrophages in angiogenesis. To investigate how uPA levels and macrophage counts in tumour tissue correlate with angiogenesis, we counted microvessels and determined uPA levels and macrophage content in 42 primary invasive breast carcinomas. Using light microscopy, we highlighted the vessels by staining their endothelium cells immunocytochemically for CD31 and factor VIII and the macrophages for CD68. After obtaining tumour tissue extracts, we determined the uPA and PAI-1 levels by ELISA. A positive correlation between microvessel density, vascular invasion, uPA level, macrophage content and proliferation rate was found.     

Overexpression of leucine‐rich α2‐glycoprotein‐1 is a prognostic marker and enhances tumor migration in gastric cancer

Gastric cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors. Although improvement in chemotherapy has been achieved, the clinical prognosis of advanced gastric cancer remains poor. Therefore, it is increasingly important to predict the prognosis and determine whether patients should or should not receive neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemotherapy. Leucine‐rich α2‐glycoprotein‐1 (LRG1) is overexpressed during inflammation and is associated with various malignancies. In this study, we assessed LRG1 expression in cancer specimens and in the sera of patients with cancer to clarify the usefulness of LRG1 as a biomarker in gastric cancer. This study enrolled 239 (for immunohistochemical staining; IHC) and 184 (for ELISA) patients with gastric cancer. Results of IHC showed that LRG1 expression was significantly associated with histological type, lymphatic and venous invasion, tumor and node factors, and disease stage. Overall survival was significantly worse in the high LRG1 expression group than in the low LRG1 group (P = 0.0003). Cox multivariate analysis of overall survival revealed that LRG1 expression was an independent prognostic factor (P = 0.0258). Serum LRG1 was significantly higher in gastric cancer patients than in healthy volunteers, and increased as the pathological stage progressed. Furthermore, a significant correlation was revealed between serum LRG1 level and LRG1 expression with IHC (P < 0.0001). Inhibition of LRG1 significantly decreased cell proliferation in vitro (migratory and invasive capacity of gastric cancer cells). These results suggest that LRG1 expression in tumors and serum may be a useful prognostic marker in gastric cancer patients.     

Identification of colon tumour-associated antigens by phage antibody selections on primary colorectal carcinoma

Immunotargeting of solid tumours using antibodies has become a valuable tool for the detection of cancer metastases and the treatment of minimal residual disease. However, only few tumour antigens useful for targeting have been described to date. To identify cell-surface targets on colorectal carcinoma (CRC), we selected a large, human phage antibody repertoire on freshly isolated colon tumour cells. Two antibodies were identified that reacted with epithelial cell-restricted cell-surface antigens, whereas one clone preferentially reacted with stromal cells. These antigens are tumour-associated antigens, as shown by their uniform expression in tumours of different patients and of different differentiation stages and by their limited expression on normal tissues. The pattern of reactivity in immunohistochemistry (IHC) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) suggests that these antigens are different from previously identified tumour-associated antigens (e.g. Ep-CAM or c-ERB-2). This phage antibody-based method may lead to the cloning of novel tumour antigens that are useful for the immunotargeting of solid tumours.     

乙酰肝素酶、E-cadherin、N-cadherin和vimentin蛋白在胃癌中的表达及其意义

目的： 探讨人胃癌组织中乙酰肝素酶（HPA）、上皮标志物E-cadherin、间质标志物N-cadherin和vimentin蛋白的表达及其与人胃癌临床病理指标的关系,以及HPA与E-cadherin、N-cadherin、vimentin蛋白之间的关系。方法： 应用免疫组织化学方法检测91例人胃癌组织中HPA、E-cadherin、N-cadherin和vimentin蛋白表达情况;采用卡方检验,检测这几种蛋白阳性表达率与人胃癌不同病理指标的关系;同时采用Spearman等级相关分析HPA与E-cadherin、N-cadherin、vimentin蛋白之间的关系。结果： 人胃癌组织中HPA、E-cadherin、N-cadherin和vimentin蛋白阳性表达率为75.82%、51.65%、54.95%和23.08%。91例人胃癌组织中HPA、E-cadherin、N-cadherin和vimentin蛋白的阳性表达率与胃癌患者年龄、性别、胃癌大小均无明显相关（P > 0.05）,而与人胃癌发生部位、分化程度和有无淋巴结转移、侵袭程度有关（P < 0.05）。HPA、N-cadherin和vimentin蛋白在贲门部阳性表达率明显高于胃体、幽门及胃窦胃癌;低分化者、有淋巴结转移者和胃癌侵袭深处这3种蛋白阳性表达率明显高于高分化者、无淋巴结转移者和胃癌起始部位;E-cadherin蛋白在幽门及胃窦部胃癌阳性表达率明显高于贲门和胃体胃癌;高中分化者、无淋巴结转移者明显高于低分化者和有淋巴结转移者。E-cadherin蛋白阳性表达率在侵袭深处明显低于起始部位。经Spearman等级相关分析显示,人胃癌组织中HPA与E-cadherin蛋白的阳性表达率呈负相关（r=-0.341,P < 0.05）;而与N-cadherin（r=0.366,P < 0.05）和vimentin（r=0.284,P < 0.05）蛋白阳性表达率呈正相关。结论： 人胃癌组织中HPA、N-cadherin和vimentin蛋白在低分化者、有淋巴结转移者和胃癌侵袭深处高表达;E-cadherin蛋白在高中分化胃癌,无淋巴结转移者和起始部位高表达。HPA与N-cadherin、vimentin蛋白阳性表达率呈正相关,HPA与E-cadherin蛋白的阳性表达率呈负相关,可见HPA蛋白与间质标志物N-cadherin和vimentin蛋白表达增强有关,而与上皮标志物E-cadherin蛋白缺失或减少有关,因此HPA可能诱导人胃癌组织发生上皮间质转化。     

Correlation between Claudin-18 expression and clinicopathological features and prognosis in patients with gastric cancer

BackgroundTo investigate the correlation between Claudin-18 expression and the clinicopathological features and prognosis of gastric cancer.MethodsA total of 63 patients who underwent gastric cancer surgery from December 2012 to June 2013 were recruited as the research participants. The clinicopathological data and prognostic information of the participants were collected, and expression levels of Claudin-18 in gastric cancer and adjacent tissues were detected by immunohistochemical (IHC) staining. The correlation between Claudin-18 expression and clinicopathological features of gastric cancer patients was analyzed. The Cox regression model was used to analyze the risk factors associated with the prognosis of gastric cancer patients.ResultsThe expression of Claudin-18 was positive in 35 (55.6%) of the participants’ gastric cancer tissues, which was significantly lower than that in the adjacent tissues (51 tissues/81.0%), and the difference was statistically significant (P=0.002). In addition, the IHC staining score of Claudin-18 expression in gastric cancer tissues (1.49±1.69), was significantly lower than that in the adjacent tissues (4.61±1.81), and the difference was statistically significant (P=0.016), The incidence of nerve invasion in patients with low expression of Claudin-18 was significantly higher than that in patients with high expression of Claudin-18 (P=0.038). In addition, univariate Cox regression analysis showed that nerve invasion, Claudin-18 staining score, tumor size, and positive count of lymph nodes were risk factors associated with the survival of gastric cancer patients. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that Claudin-18 staining score and tumor size were independent risk factors associated with the survival of gastric cancer patients. The overall survival (OS) of patients with low Claudin-18 staining score or larger tumor size was significantly reduced.ConclusionsThe low expression of Claudin-18 was closely related to nerve invasion in gastric cancer, which indicated the poor clinical prognosis of gastric cancer patients.     

The expression of CXCL12 and CXCR4 in gastric cancer and their correlation to lymph node metastasis

The purpose of this study was to investigate the expression of CXCL12 and its receptor CXCR4 in gastric cancer and to determine their relationship with lymph node metastasis. Fifty patients with pathologically confirmed gastric cancer were analyzed from September 2004 to December 2004. The expression levels of CXCL12 and CXCR4 were examined by immunohistochemical staining in the primary gastric tumor tissues, adjacent normal mucosa tissues, and metastatic lymph nodes and were analyzed along with clinicopathological risk factors, to determine their correlation with the prognosis. Positive staining for CXCL12 and CXCR4 was identified in 90.0 and 80.0% of the primary gastric tumor tissues, respectively, with significantly higher expression intensities observed in the primary gastric tumor tissues than in the adjacent normal mucosa tissues (P?<?0.01 and P?=?0.01, respectively). Positive staining for CXCL12 and CXCR4 was identified in 94.4 and 91.7% of metastatic lymph nodes, respectively, with significantly higher expression intensities in the metastatic lymph nodes than in the adjacent normal mucosa tissues (P?<?0.01 and P?=?0.01, respectively). Expression of CXCL12 in the primary gastric tumor tissues was not significantly associated with the clinicopathological characteristics of the tumor or the disease prognosis. However, the intensity of CXCR4 staining in primary tumor tissues was positively related with lymph node metastasis, TNM staging, and disease prognosis (P?=?0.04, 0.03, 0.03, respectively). CXCL12 and CXCR4 are related to formation of gastric tumors and lymph node metastasis. Furthermore, the expression of CXCR4 could be used as a biomarker to predict malignant features of gastric cancer.     

胃癌组织中Ets-1的表达及其与血管生成临床病理特征和预后的关系

目的 探讨胃癌组织、癌旁组织及淋巴结转移灶中Ets-1表达的临床意义,分析Ets-1表达与血管生成、临床病理特征及预后的关系.方法 应用免疫组化SP法,采用组织芯片技术,检测189例胃癌组织、54例癌旁组织、41例淋巴结转移灶及32例正常胃黏膜中Ets-1蛋白的表达.对胃癌患者通过上门或电话进行问卷随访.结果 胃癌组织、癌旁组织和正常胃黏膜Ets-1的阳性表达率分别为71.4%、29.6%和18.8%,3组间差异有统计学意义(P＜0.01).135例Ets-1表达阳性的胃癌组织微血管密度(MVD)为30.42±15.21,54例Ets-1表达阴性的胃癌组织MVD为25.73±11.50.两组差异有统计学意义(P=0.042).Ets-1蛋白表达与浸润深度、淋巴结转移有关(P＜0.01),与性别、年龄、肿瘤大小、分化程度、Lanren分型无关(P＞0.05).41例淋巴结转移灶和相对应的41例胃癌组织Ets-1表达阳性率分别为84.4%和58.5%,差异有统计学意义(P=0.007).单因素分析显示,Ets-1表达对胃癌患者生存期的影响有统计学意义(P＜0.05),Cox多元回归分析显示,Ets-1表达不是胃癌患者预后的独立影响因素(P＞0.05).结论 Ets-1在促进胃癌血管生成中发挥着重要作用,在胃癌的发生、发展中扮演了重要角色,Ets-1表达对胃癌患者的生存期有一定影响,胃癌淋巴结转移灶和原发灶肿瘤组织中Ets-1的表达不同,具有异质性.     

TMEM119在乳腺肿瘤组织中的表达及其临床意义

目的:研究TMEM119 在正常及乳腺良恶性肿瘤组织中的表达差异,探讨其在乳腺上皮肿瘤鉴别诊断及恶性肿瘤中的临床及预后价值。方法:利用cBioPortal下载TCGA乳腺癌基因表达谱资料及临床相关资料。免疫组化分析 TMEM119在肿瘤组织及正常组织中的表达差异;进一步探讨TMEM119 的表达差异与乳腺癌患者临床病理特征的相关性及其对预后的影响。结果:乳腺癌组织中的TMEM119表达明显高于配对的正常组织及良性肿瘤(P<0.01),TMEM119 表达与肿瘤组织的淋巴结转移、远处转移、病理分期及预后相关(P<0.05)。结论:TMEM119可为良恶性肿瘤鉴别诊断、预测乳腺癌转移及判断预后的有效分子标记物,是影响患者预后的不良因素之一。     

Helix pomatia agglutinin binding activity is a predictor of survival time for patients with gastric carcinoma.

The authors used helix pomatia agglutinin (HPA) staining to examine 163 primary gastric carcinoma isolates, using the avidin-biotin-peroxidase complex method. The positive HPA staining rate was 59% (96/163) for the primary tumors, and the positive staining correlated well (with statistical significance) with tumor enlargement, penetration, lymphatic invasion, and metastasis (P less than 0.01), and with infiltrative spread (P less than 0.05). Patients with gastric cancer showing positive HPA staining had a lower survival rate (P less than 0.001), particularly when the cancer cells were present on the serosal surface. Careful follow-up and intensive postoperative therapy are required for patients with an HPA-positive advanced gastric carcinoma.     

Tumour-associated trypsin inhibitor (TATI) in human ovarian cyst fluid. Comparison with CA 125 and CEA

The levels of tumour-associated trypsin inhibitor (TATI), CA 125 and CEA were measured in ovarian cyst fluids from 21 patients. TATI in cyst fluid was immunologically and physicochemically similar to the peptide originally isolated from the urine of a patient with ovarian cancer. Mucinous cysts contained significantly higher levels of TATI than did serous cysts. Immunohistochemically TATI was localized in the apical parts of cells of mucinous ovarian cysts. These results suggest that this tumour-associated peptide is actually produced by a tumour. Like TATI, CEA occurred at higher concentrations in mucinous than in serous cyst fluids, whereas CA 125 was found in higher concentrations in serous than in mucinous cyst fluids. The concentrations of these tumours markers in cyst fluids did not correlate with circulating levels of the same markers. In spite of the very high levels of all these tumour markers in benign cyst fluids, serum levels were normal or only slightly elevated. Clearly elevated serum levels occurred only in patients with malignant tumours. Cyst fluid levels of these tumour markers could not be used to distinguish between benign and malignant tumours.     

GLI1蛋白在胃癌组织中的表达及临床意义

目的:探讨胶质瘤相关癌基因1(GLI1)在胃癌组织中的表达及临床意义。方法:收集2014年1月至2014年12月我院胃肠外科收治的经病理确诊行根治性手术的78例胃癌患者肿瘤组织及其邻近的正常胃组织标本。采用免疫组化染色方法检测胃癌及其邻近正常胃组织中GLI1表达情况,分析GLI1的表达与胃癌患者临床病理特征之间的相关性。结果:GLI1蛋白在胃癌组织中表达显著高于邻近正常胃组织（75.6% vs 26.9%,P＜0.001）,且GLI1的表达与肿瘤大小、肿瘤浸润深度、脉管侵犯、TNM分期、淋巴结转移有关,差异有统计学意义（P＜0.05）,而与性别、年龄、肿瘤部位、分化程度、神经侵犯无关（P＞0.05）。生存分析利用Kaplan-Meier法,结果提示胃癌患者中GLI1高表达组总体生存时间显著低于低表达组,二者差异有统计学意义(P＜0.000 1)。结论:GLI1在胃癌组织中异常高表达,参与胃癌的发生发展及预后,未来可能成为胃癌基因治疗的新靶点。     

Hyaluronan expression in gastric cancer cells is associated with local and nodal spread and reduced survival rate

Hyaluronan (HA), an extracellular high-molecular-mass polysaccharide, is supposed to be involved in the growth and progression of malignant tumours. We studied the cellular expression of HA in 215 operated stage I-IV gastric cancer patients using a specific biotinylated probe. Most (93%) of the tumours showed HA staining in their parenchyma, whereas the stroma inside and around the tumour was stained in every case. When HA expression was compared with the clinical and histological features of the tumours, a strong staining intensity in the tumour parenchyma was found to be associated with deep tumour invasion (pT3 or 4) and with mixed type of Laurén. A high proportion of HA-positive cells of all neoplastic cells was significantly associated with deep tumour invasion, nodal metastasis, positive lymphatic invasion, poor differentiation grade, as well as with inferior prognosis in univariate survival analysis. However, in multivariate analysis, only pT, pN, and vascular and lymphatic invasion emerged as independent predictors of survival in gastric cancer. The results indicate that ectopic HA expression is a frequent feature of gastric adenocarcinoma, and is associated with tumour progression and poor survival rate.     

Correlation of vascular endothelial growth factor expression with fibroblast growth factor-8 expression and clinico-pathologic parameters in human prostate cancer

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) mediates neo-angiogenesis during tumour progression and is known to cooperate with the fibroblast growth factor (FGF) system to facilitate angiogenesis in a synergistic manner. In view of this, we have investigated VEGF expression in 67 cases of prostate cancer previously characterized for fibroblast growth factor-8 (FGF-8) expression. Cytoplasmic VEGF staining was detected in malignant cells in 45 out of 67 cases. Cytoplasmic staining was found in adjacent stromal cells in 32 cases, being particularly strong around nests of invasive tumour. Positive VEGF immunoreactivity in benign glands was restricted to basal epithelium. A significant association was observed between tumour VEGF and FGF-8 expression (P = 0.004). We identified increased VEGF immunoreactivity in both malignant epithelium and adjacent stroma and both were found to be significantly associated with high tumour stage (P = 0.0047 and P = 0.0002, respectively). VEGF expression also correlated with increased serum PSA levels (P = 0.01). Among positively stained tumours, VEGF expression showed a significant association with Gleason score (P = 0.04). Cases showing positive VEGF immunoreactivity in the stroma had a significantly reduced survival rate compared to those with negative staining (P = 0.037). Cases with tumours expressing both FGF-8 in the malignant epithelium and VEGF in the adjacent stroma had a significantly worse survival rate than those with tumours negative for both, or only expressing one of the two growth factors (P = 0.029). Cox multivariate regression analysis of survival demonstrated that stromal VEGF and tumour stage were the most significant independent predictors of survival. In conclusion, we report for the first time a correlation of both tumour and stromal VEGF expression in prostate cancer with clinical parameters as well as its correlation to FGF-8 expression.