The Effects of COX-2 and VEGF-C on the Lymph Node Metastasis of Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Objective To investigate the expression and correlation of cyclooxygenase-2(COX-2) and vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF)-C proteins in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.Methods COX-2 and VEGF-C expressions were detected by immunohistochemical method in 66 cases of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma(in contrast with 10 cases of paraneoplastic tissue specimens).Results The positive rates of COX-2 and VEGF-C were 69.70% and 56.06% respectively in 66 cases of esophageal carcinoma,which were higher than corresponding paraneoplastic tissue specimens(P0.05).The high expressions in carcinoma tissue was closely correlated with lymph node metastasis(P0.05).Further more,there is obvious correlation between the expressions of COX-2 and VEGF-C(r=0.479 P0.01). Conclusions There are high expressions of COX-2 and VEGF-C in esophageal carcinoma tissue,and COX-2 may get involved in the form of VEGF-C lymph-vessel tract.Their expressions may play a very important role in lymph-vessel metastasis of esophageal carcinoma.