Expression and Clinical Signincance of VEGF-Cin Esophageal Carcinoma

Objective:To study the expression of VEGF-C in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and to clarify its role in lymphatic metastasis.Methods:Paraffin-embedded specimens from 59 patients with primary esophageal squamous cell carcinoma were investigated with immunohistochemical staining SP mehod.Results:Positive immunohistochemical staining for VEGF-C protein was observed in 42 of all the patients.The brown positive staining granules for VEGF-C protein were identified in the cytoplasm of carcinoma cells.There was signincantly difference between the expression of VEGF-C in lymph-node-positive group and node-negative group(x~2=6.40,P0.05).The expression of VEGF-C was significantly hisher in 1ymph-node-positive group than in node-negative group.Conclusion:There must be a close correlation between VEGF-C expression and lymph node metastasis in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.