Expression and significance of vascular endothelial growth factor D in gastric cancer

Objective To clarify expression of vascular endothelial growth factor D(VEGF- D) and its relationship with lymph node metastasis in gastric carcinoma. Methods The subjects were 100 patients with gastric carcinoma (50 cases with positive or negative for lymph node metastasis, respectively) , meanwhile, 30 cases of normal gastric tissues were used as control. Simultaneously, the expression of VEGF-C and D protein in gastric carcinoma tissues and in normal gastric tissues was detected by immunohistochemistry. Results VEGF-C and D can be stained in cytoplasm in gastric carcinoma tissues and normal gastric tissue by immunohistochemistry. VEGF-C and D protein were expressed in 51 % (51/ 100) , 60 %(60/100) of patients, respectively. The VEGF-C and D positive rates in gastric carcinoma were much higher than those of control(P 0.05). There was a significant correlation between the positive expression(++) of VEGF-D and lymph node metastasis, lymphatic invasion , positive expression of VEGF-C (P 0.025). Conclusion The expression(++) of VEGF-D is closely related to lymph node metastasis in gastric carcinoma.