Expression of SOX18,VEGF-C and VEGFR-3 and their clinical significance in gastric carcinoma

Purpose To investigate the roles of SOX18,vascular endothelial growth factor-C( VEGF-C) and its receptor VEGFR-3 in gastric carcinoma. Methods The expression of SOX18,VEGF-C and VEGFR-3 was detected by SP immunohistochemical technique in 60 cases of gastric carcinoma and their corresponding adjacent normal gastric tissues( n = 15). Results The positive percentage of SOX18,VEGF-C and VEGFR-3 protein expression in gastric cancer was significantly higher than that in normal gastric mucosa tissues( P 0. 05). The expression of SOX18 and VEGF-C was significantly related with invasive depth,lymph node metastasis and TNM stage( P 0. 05),the expression of VEGFR-3 was significantly related with lymph node metastasis and TNM stage( P 0. 05). The expression of SOX18 had significantly positive correlations with that of VEGF-C( r = 0. 372,P = 0. 002) and VEGFR-3( r = 0. 308,P= 0. 011) in gastric carcinoma,and there was also significantly positive correlation between expression of VEGF-C and that of VEGFR-3 in gastric carcinoma( r = 0. 333,P = 0. 005). Conclusions SOX18,VEGF-C and VEGFR-3 may play an important role in the pathogenesis,development and lymph node metastasis of gastric carcinoma. SOX18 may mediate lymphangiogenesis through regulating the expression of VEGF-C,thereby promoting the lymph node metastasis of gastric carcinoma.