Expression of vascular endothelial growth factor in non-small lung carcinoma and its correlation to prognosis

Objective To investigate the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in non-small lung carcinoma(NSCLC)and its correlation to microvascular density (MVD) and prognosis.Methods VEGF expression and MVD were determined in 60 patients with NSCLC by an immunohistochemical technique.Survival curves were plotted according to the Log-rank estimates.Results In 60 NSCLC the positive rate of VEGF was significantly higher than that in normal lung tissues (78.33% versus 40%).The VEGF expression was not related to age,sex,tumor size and pathological type (P0.05), but related to MVD and lymph node metastasis (P0.05).The MVD in VEGF positive group (49.77±11.9) was higher than that in VEGF negative group (31.67±8.88).The positive rate of VEGF in samples with lymph node metastasis (90%) was higher than those without lymph node metastasis (66.67%).Log-rank survival curve analysis showed that the VEGF expression was related to prognosis in NSCLC.Conclusion VEGF expression contributes to the tumor neovascularization and tumor metastasis.VEGF expression is related to the prognosis,and could be an indicator in estimating survival rate in the NSCLC.