[Study on relationship between intratumoral lymphangiogenesis of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma and lymphatic metastasis].

OBJECTIVE: To elucidate the relationship between the intratumoral lymphangiogenesis and lymphatic metastasis, and provide some theoretic evidence for the judgement of lymph node metastasis and prognosis of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC), also for the treatment. METHOD: Immunohistochemical analysis was performed to 50 specimens of LSCC with lymphatic endothelial marker (Lymphatic vessel endothelial hyaluronan receptor-1 LYVE-1), the vascular endothelial marker CD34 and the pKi67 proliferation marker to record lymphatic vessel density (LVD). Quantitation of lymphangiogenesis growth factor VEGF-C by RT- PCR was performed to 30 specimens of LSCC. Finally the correlation between LVD and tumor TNM grade, VEGF-C mRNA, grade of diffraction was analyzed with statistics methods. RESULT: Newly proliferating lymphatic vessel were observed in all LSCC. The median copy number of VEGF-c mRNA was 4-5-fold higher in LSCC than in adjacent normal tissue. There was correlation between tumor VEGF-C mRNA copy number and intratumoral LVD (n =30, P <0.05), there was no significant association between LVD and sex, T stage and grade of diffraction (n =50, P >0.05) but N stage (n = 50, P <0.05). CONCLUSION: Newly proliferating lymphatic vessels existed in LSCC. There was correlation between high levels of LVD in LSCC than in normal tissue. And the high level of VEGF-C may accelerate the lymphatic metastasis by promoting the proliferation of intratumoral lymphatic.