Increased expressions of VEGF and VEGF-C in prostate cancer tissue are associated with tumor progression

Objective To investigate the expressions of VEGF and VEGF-C between PCa tissues and adjacent benign tissues, and explore the roles of VEGF and VEGF-C in the progression process of PCa. Methods Seventy-one primary prostatic adenocarcinoma cases were included in this study and an immunohistochemical approach was adopted to detect the expressions of CD34, VEGF and VEGF-C in each sample. Then a statistic analysis was performed according to the experimental data. Results Significantly up-regulated expressions of VEGF and VEGF-C were both found in malignant epithelium/cancer cells compared with adjacent benign epithelium(P0.01, respectively). Patients in stage D had a significantly higher score than patients in stage A, B or C when comparing VEGF-C expression in tumor area(P0.01). In addition, significant correlations were observed between Jewett-Whitmore staging and VEGF-C(rs=0.738, P0.001), and MVD and VEGF(rs=0.492, P0.001). Conclusions Increased expressions of VEGF and VEGF-C were closely associated with progression of prostate cancer. The main contribution of VEGF for PCa progression was to stimulate angiogenesis, while the chief role of VEGF-C was to enhance lymphangiogenesis.