Effect of vascular endothelial growth factor-C and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-3 on lymph node metastasis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in high risk area

Objective To study the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor-C(VEGF-C)and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-3(VEGFR-3) on esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and the effect of them on lymph node metastasis and prognosis in high risk area of Linzhou city.Methods Eighty-three cases with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma all came from Linzhou city.The expression of VEGF-C and VEGFR-3 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma were detected by immunohistochemistry.And all patients were followed up for five years.Results Positive product of VEGF-C was detected in the cytoplasm,the positive expression rate was 45.8%(38/83).The positive expression of VEGF-C was positively correlated with tumor infiltration depth,pTNM staging and local lymph node metastasis(P0.01).The mean of positive vessel VEGFR-3 was 9.77±2.99.The positive vessel of VEGFR-3 was correlated with lymph node metastasis and expression of VEGF-C(P0.001).Five years survival rate of VEGF-3 positive expression was lower than that of VEGF-3 negative expression(P0.01).Conclusion VEGF-C and VEGFR-3 may play important roles in the lymph node metastasis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.The expression of VEGF-C may be a prognostic indicator for the patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.