Correlation between expressions of COX-2 and levels of VEGF-C in lymphatic metastasis breast cancer

OBJECTIVE:To study the correlation between the expression levels of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and vascular endothelial growth factor-C (VEGF-C) and the metastasis status of lymph node in breast cancer. METHOD: The expression level of COX-2 mRNA was detected in cancer tissues, paracarcinoma breast tissues,normal breast tissues of 54 patients with breast cancer and benign tumor tissues of 30 patients with breast benign tumor by RT-PCR. The level of VEGF-C in the serum of 54 patients with breast cancer, 30 patients of breast benign tumor and 30 cases of normal people was detected by ELISA. RESULTS: 1)The positive rates of COX-2 were 78%(42/54) and 13%(7/54)respectively in the breast cancer and the paracarcinoma breast tissues, but in the normal breast tissues and benign tumor tissues, there was almost no expression (9%). The positive rates of COX-2 were 45%(17/38) and 63%(10/16) respectively in the Ⅰ,Ⅱ and Ⅲ stages of breast cancer. The rate was 82%(28/34) in lymph node metastasis breast cancer, but it was 30%(6/20) in breast cancer without lymph node metastasis. 2)The levels of VEGF-C in preoperative serum of the patients with breast cancer (6 142.98 ng/L)and the patients of breast benign tumor (5 268.92 ng/L) were significantly different (P0.05), being higher in lymph node metastasis breast cancer (6 369.27 ng/L) than in breast cancer without lymph node metastasis (5 884.90 ng/L), P0.05. 3)The expressions of COX-2 and VEGF-C were significantly increased in lymph node metastasis breast cancer compared with breast cancer without lymph node metastasis, and there was a positive correlation between COX-2 and VEGF-C in lymphatic metastasis breast cancer, r=0.629, P=0.028. CONCLUSION: COX-2 and VEGF-C play an important role in the development of breast cancer and promote the lymphatic metastasis of breast cancer jointly.