Expression of VEGF-C in gastric cancer and its role in the lymph node metastasis

Objective To study the expression of VEGF-C in gastric carcinoma and its relationship with the formation of lymphatic vessel and lymph node metastasis.Methods The expression of VEGF-C mRNA in 60 pairs of fresh primary gastric cancer and their adjacent normal tissues were determined with semi-quantitative reverse RT-PCR,the expression of VEGF-C protein and lymphatis vessel density in gastric carcinoma tissues were detected with immunohistochemistry.Results VEGF-C mRNA was expressed in 60 pairs of gastric cancer and their adjacent tissues,and gastric cancer tissues had a higher expression than the adjacent tissues(P0.01).The expression rates of VEGF-C protein in gastric carcinoma tissues and the adjacent tissues were 51.67% and 18.33%,which showed a statistic difference(P0.01).The high expressions of VEGF-C mRNA and VEGF-C protein were closely related to lymphovascular invasion and lymphatic metastasis.Conclusion VEGF-C plays an important role in the formation of lymphatic vessel and lymph node metastasis in gastric cancer.