Expression and correlation of HIF-1α and VEGF in human gastric carcinoma

Objective To determin the expression levels of HIF-1α and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in gastric carcinoma tissue and ascertaining whether HIF-1α and VEGF play important roles in tumor malignant progression and metastasis.Methods HIF-1α and VEGF protein were detected in gastric carcinoma tissue by immunohistochemistry using streptavidin/peroxidase (SP).Results HIF-1α and VEGF were mainly expressed higer than normal ones.The positive expression of HIF-1α and VEGF were correlated with malignant progression and metastasis.There was a pnsitive correlation between expression of HIF-1α and VEGF.Conclu-sion The expression of HIF-1α and VEGF may play an important role in the development of gastric carcino-ma.The expression of HIF-1α is significantly correlated with malignant progression and metastasis.HIF-1α and VEGF are combinated to advanced tumor progression.The expression of these two factors suggest bad prognosis. Key words: Gastric carcinoma;  HIF-1α (hypoxia-inducible factor-1);  VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) ;  Tumor metastasis