VEGF-C expression correlates with lymphatic metastasis and prognosis in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

[Objective] To investigate the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor-C (VEGF-C) in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), and the relationship between its expression and the lymphatic metastasis and prognosis. [Methods] Immunohistochemical method was used to examine the expression of VEGF-C in 72 cases of the ESCC and adjacent normal esophageal mucosa, and the percentage of the cells positively stained with VEGF-C antibody was calculated with a computer-aided microscopic image analysis system. [Results] VEGF-C antigen was not expressed in normal esophageal mucosa but detected in 28 of 72 (38.9%) neoplastic esophageal lesions. The expression of VEGF-C antigen was significantly associated with the depth of tumor invasion﹙χ2=10.77, P 0.01) and lymph node metastasis(χ2=10.98, P 0.01), but not with the patients′ age, tumor size or differentiation (P 0.05). The overall survival rate of the patients with positive VEGF-C expression was significantly lower than that of the patients without VEGF-C expression﹙χ2=11.16, P 0.01). [Conclusion] The expression of VEGF-C in ESCC can promote tumor lymphatic metastasis, and it may serve as a risk factor indicating a poor prognosis of ESCC.