Relationship of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor and Angiogenesis to the Progress of Gastric Carcinoma

Objective To investigate the relationshop of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and angiogenesis to the progress of gastric carcinoma (GC).Methods VEGF protein expression and microvessel density (MVD) in 42 cases of human GC were examined by use of immunohistochemical staining.MVD and VEGF expression was analysed together with their relation to clinicopathologic factors.Results MVD was significantly higher in VEGF-positive GC than that in VEGF-negative GC( P 0.01).MVD and VEGF positively correlated with tumor size ( P 0.05),tumor invasion ( P 0.05) and lymph node metastasis ( P 0.05),but their relation to the tumor differentiation was not significant.Conclusion VEGF is highly related to angiogenesis of GC and promotes growth,invasion and metastasis of GC.VEGF expression or MVD is one of the predictors for the biological behavior of GC.