Expression and Prognostic Significance of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor and Microvessel Density in Human Colorectal Carcinoma

Objective To explore the relationship of vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF)and angiogenesis with the progression of colorectal carcinoma.Methods VEGF protein expression and microvascular density(MVD)in 65 cancer tissues,65 neighboring non-cancerous and 16 normal tissues were examined by S-P immunohistochemical technique.Results The positive rate of VEGF expression in colorectal carcinoma tissues was significantly higher than that of neighboring non-cancerous and normal tissues(P0.05).MVD was significantly higher in VEGFpositive colorectal carcinoma than that in VEGF-negative colorectal carcinoma(P0.05).There was a significantly positive correlation between the intensity of the expression of VEGF and that of MVD value in colorectal carcinoma tissues(r=0.410,P=0.001);but VEGF and MVD were not related to histological grade(P0.05).VEGF and MVD were significantly positively correlated with the depth of invasion,TAM stage,and blood metastasis of tumor(P0.05).The prognosis of patients with positive VEGF and high MVD was significantly poorer than that of those with negative VEGF and low MVD(P0.05).Conclusion VEGF is closely related to angiogenesis of colorectal carcinoma and promotes growth,invasion and metastasis of colorectal carcinoma.MVD and VEGF can be used as an useful markers that guide the choice and better use of therapy and predicts prognosis in colorectal cancer.