Correlation of cyclooxygenase-2 expression with neovascularization in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Objective To investigate the relationship between cyclooxygenase-2(COX-2)expression and neovascularization in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.MethodsThe expression of COX-2,vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF)and microvessel density(MVD)were determined by immunohistochemical method in 33 specimens of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and 33 adjacent tissues,and their relationship was investigated.Their relationship with clinicopathological features was analyzed also.ResultsIn esophageal squamous cell carcinoma,COX-2 overexprssion was significantly related with depth of tumor invasion and lymph node metastasis(P0.05).The mean levels of MVD in COX-2 positive expression tissues and VEGF positive expression tissues were significantly higher than that in negative tissues,respectively(P0.01).The positive expression rates of COX-2,VEGF and mean levels of MVD in esophageal carcinoma were significantly higher than that in adjacent carcinoma tissues,respectively(P0.05).ConclusionThe neovascularization in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma may be related to overexpression of COX-2 and VEGF.