The Expression and Clinical Significance of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor-C in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

Objective To investigate the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor-C(VEGF-C) in human non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC) and to elucidate its roles in lymph node metastasis and prognosis evaluation. Methods The expression of VEGF-C was examined in 50 NSCLC specimens and 20 archival surgical specimens of human pulmonary inflammatory pseudotumor tissues by immunohistochemistry. Results The positive rate of VEGF-C expression in NSCLC and inflammatory pseudotumor was 44% and 5% respectively. There was significant difference in VEGF-C expression between the two groups. The expression rate of VEGF-C in NSCLC was significantly higher in the patients with lymph node metastasis (66 7%) than that in the patients without lymph node metastasis (23 1%, P0 01). The patients of NSCLC with a positive VEGF-C expression had a significantly short survival period than those with a negative VEGF-C expression. There was no significant correlation between the VEGF-C expression and the pathological type of NSCLC, T factor in the clinical stages by TNM, the ages,the sexes or the smoking indexes of the patients with NSCLC. Conclusion VEGF-C may play an important role in the lymph node metastasis and the prognosis of NSCLC.