Advances in vascular endothelial growth factor-C

Metastasis to the regional lymph nodes through lymphatic vessels is an important prognostic factor in many types of cancer. It is a hot reseach field in antilyphangiogenic therapy now, but so far we know little about the mechanisim of lymphatic metastasis. It has recently been shown that lympangiogenic growth factor VEGF-C, and its special receptor,VEGF receptor(VEGFR-3), may play a pivotal role in the promotion of metastasis to regional lymph nodes by inducing tumor-associated lymphangiogenesis. Thus,the VEGF-C/VEGFR-3 signaling pathway may provide a new target for antilyphangiogenic therapy in tumors.Futhermor, VEGF-C may participate in the stimulation of angiogenesis in malignant tumours via both of its two receptors,VEGFR-3 and VEGFR-2. This review summarizes the recent reseach about the relation between VEGF-C and lymphatic metastasis or blood route metastasis and that about antilyphangiogenic therapy.