Correlation between VEGF-C expression in non-small cell lung cancer of clinical stage I with lymphatic metastasis and sensitivity of chemotherapy

Objective To study the correlation of vascular endothelial growth factor-C(VEGF-C) expression and lymphatic microvessel density(MLVD) with lymphatic metastasis and sensitivity of chemotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC) of clinical stage Ⅰ.Methods VEGF-C expression and MLVD were detected in cancer tissues,para-cancer tissues of clinical stage I NSCLC and normal lung tissues.The clinico-pathological results of lymphatic metastasis and VEGF-C protein changes after chemotherapy were analyzed statistically.Results In cancer tissues of NSCLC,the over-expression of VEGF-C was significantly higher than that in para-cancer tissues and normal lung tissues(P0.01).The positive rates of VEGF-C expression(91.9% vs.76.7%) and MLVD [(20.0±4.8) vs.(10.6±2.2)] in lymphatic metastasis group were significantly higher than those in groups without lymphatic metastasis(P0.01).The detection of VEGF-C in serum had a close correlation with VEGF-C protein in tissues(r=0.848,P0.01).The level of VEGF-C protein in serum before chemotherapy(237±72.3)ng/mL was significantly reduced after chemotherapy [(178±69.2)ng/mL,P0.01)].Conclusion Over-expression of VEGF-C is closely related to lymphatic metastasis in NSCLC of clinical stage Ⅰ.The detection of VEGF-C in serum is helpful in clinical stage;changes of VEGF-C protein in serum before and after chemotherapy can predict the results of chemotherapy.