Expression and clinical significance of COX-2 and VEGF-D in breast cancer

Objective To investigate the expression of cyclooxygenase-2(COX-2)and vascular endothelial growth factor -D(VEGF-D) in human breast carcinoma and to investigate the relationships of COX-2 and VEGF-D with clinical and pathological characteristics.Methods The expression of COX-2 and VEGF-D were detected by immunohistochemistry SP technique in 59 cases of breast cancer and 59 cases of hyperplasia tissue.The relationship between the expression of COX-2,VEGF-D in breast cancer and the age, the volume was analyzed with Wilcoxon rank sum test.The relationship between the expression of COX-2, VEGF-D in breast cancer and the expression of estrogen receptor(ER) and lymph node metastasis was analyzed with Chi-square test. The relationship between the expression of COX-2 and VEGF-D in breast cancer was analyzed with Matching fourfold table.Results The positive expression rates of COX-2 were 61.0%(36/59) in breast cancer,and 11.9% (7/59) in hyperplasia.The positive expression rates of VEGF-D were 74.6%(44/59) in breast cancer,and 8.5%(15/59)in hyperplasia.The expression of COX-2 and VEGF-D in two groups had statistical differences(P<0.05). A significant positive correlation was found between the expression of VEGF-D and COX-2 in breast cancer(P<0.05). The expression of COX-2 in breast cancer was positively correlated with lymph node metastasis and negatively with the expression of ER (P<0.05). The expression of VEGF-D was positively correlated with lymph node metastasis(P<0.05). Conclusions COX-2 and VEGF-D are important biological markers for invasion and metastasis in breast cancer. Key words: Breast cancer ;  Cyclooxygenase-2 ;  Vascular endothelial growth factor -D ;