Expression and clinical implication of VEGF-C and flt-4 in hmg adenocarcinomas

Objective To investgate the expression of VEGF-C and flt-4 in human lung adenocarcinomas and its clinical implication. Methods Immunohistochemical technique was used to examine the expression of VEGF-C and flt-4 of tumor in 56 cases of lung adenocarcinomas, 10 normal lung tissues and 10 normal tissues around the tumor. Results The expression of flt-4 was found to be restricted to the lymphatic endothelial cells. The expression of VEGF-C in cancers was significantly higher than that in 10 normal lung tissues and 10 normal tissues around the tumor. The VEGF-C expression was correlated with clinicopathological grades and lymph node metastasis. In addition, the three-year survival rate of the patients with high expression of VEGF-C was significantly lower than those with low expression. Conclusion VEGF-C promotes growth and metastasis of lung adenocarcinomas and might be one of the predictors for metastasis and prognosis.