The relationship of vascular endothelial growth factor -A and vascular endothelial growth factor -C with lymph node metastasis of non-small cell lung cancer

Objective To investigate the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF)-A and VEGF-C in non-small lung cancer(NSCLC), and to explore the relationship of these molecules with lymphangiogenesis and metastasis. Methods The experimental group include 60 specimens of NSCLC.The control group included 20 samples of normal pulmonary tissue.The expression of VEGF-A and VEGF-C in specimens of NSCLC and normal pulmonary tissue were studied by immunohistochemistry.Microlymphatic vessel density (MLVD) was evaluated by immunohistochemistry , using polyclonal antibody of D2-40 and monoclonal antibody of CD34.Combined with clinical pathologicalfeatures and diagnosis were analyzed. Results In the 60 tissue samples of NSCLC, the positive rate of VEGF-A was 73.33%(44/60), which significantly higher than those innomal pulmonary tissue 25.00%(5/20)(χ2=14.7641, P=0.0001), the positive rate of VEGF-C was 83.33%(50/60), which significantly higher than those innomal pulmonary tissue 30.00%(6/20)(χ2=20.3175, P=0.0001). The positive rate of VEGF-A was significantly higher than those in peritumoral tissues(χ2=4.4815, P=0.0343), the positive rate of VEGF-C was significantly higher than those in peritumoral tissues(χ2=8.5333, P=0.0035). The expression of VEGF-A and VEGF-C protein in NSCLC was not correlated with age, gender, size, typles of histology and degree of differentiation, but were corrected with lymph nodes metastasis and PTNM stage(χ2=6.3736, P=0.0116)and(χ2=6.6516, P=0.0099). The MLVD in the tissues with positive expression of VEGF-A、VEGF-C was significantly higher than that without VEGF-A expression(t=-7.2735, P<0.005)and VEGF-C expression(t=6.9338, P<0.005). The MLVD was corrected with lymph nodes metastasis and PTNM stage(t=-12.1146, P<0.05). Conclusion VEGF-A and VEGF-C might promotelymphatic metastasis by including lymphangiogenesis especially at the edge of lung cancer tissue.Thus, they might be used as important markers to evaluate lymphatic metastasis and prognosis of NSCLC. Key words: Non-small Lung Cancer; Vascular endothelial growth factor; Lymphatic vessel density; Lymphatic metastasis