Expression of vascular endothelial cell growth factor B mRNA in breast cancer tissues and its clinical significance

[Objective] To study the expression of vascular endothelial cell growth factor(VEGF)-B mRNA in breast cancer tissues and its correlation with clinicopathological factors.[Methods] The expression of VEGF-B mRNA were analyzed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR)in the specimens from 47 patients with breast cancer and 11 patients with benign breast disease.[Results] VEGF-B167,186 mRNA were detected in both malignant and benign breast tissues.VEGF-B167 expressed in all malignant and benign breast tissues,while VEGF-B186 expressed in 78.7% breast cancer tissues and 54.5% benign breast tissues.The expression level of VEGF-B167 was(0.222±0.078)and(0.176±0.062)in breast cancer tissues and benign breast tissues,respectively,with no significant difference(P =0.077).While the expression level of VEGF-B186 was higher in breast cancer tissues,0.167(0.080~0.219),than in benign breast tissues,0.071(0.000~0.156)(P =0.010).Moreover,we observed there was no correlation between the expression of VEGF-B167,186 mRNA in breast cancer tissues and patients' age,tumor size,lymph node metastasis,tumor stages,estrogen or progesterone receptor status.[Conclusion] The expression of VEGF-B186 mRNA was up-regulated in breast cancer tissues,while the expression of VEGF-B167 mRNA was not,thus which suggested VEGF-B186 may have some biologic activity in breast cancer.