Expressions of vascular endothelial growth factor and its receptors in epithelial ovarian carcinoma and their clinical significance

Objective:To determine the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its receptors (flt-1 and KDR) in ovarian cancer. Methods:The expressions of VEGF and VEGFR were evaluated in 45 cases of epithelial ovarian cancer by immunohistochemical SP method. The relationship between the expression of VEGF and VEGFR and some clinicopathologic parameters was analyzed. Results:Positive immunostaining rates of VEGF,flt-1,and KDR were 86.7%(39/45),68.9%(31/45), and 88.9%(40/45),respectively. Positive immunostaining rates of VEGF was much higher in Ⅲ-Ⅳ stage of ovarian cancer than that in Ⅰ-Ⅱ stage (93.5% vs 35.7%,P=0.001). VEGF positive immunostaining was observed more frequently in patients with the lymph node metastasis than those without lymph node metastasis (69.2% vs 27.8%,P0.05). The difference in VEGF expression was not significant in different histological types of ovarian cancer. VEGF-positive patients showed poor prognosis than VEGF-negative patients. Conclusion:There is a close relationship between VEGF expression and epithelial ovarian cancer progression. VEGF could accelerate growth,local invasion, and metastasis of ovarian cancer.