肝细胞癌组织中COX-2及VEGF表达的临床研究

Expressions of COX-2 and VEGF in hepatocellular carcinoma

目的:研究肝细胞癌(HCC)中环氧化酶2(COX-2)和血管内皮生长因子(VEGF)蛋白的表达及其相互关系.方法:应用免疫组织化学法检测HCC30例石蜡包埋组织中COX-2与VEGF蛋白的表达情况,分析其相互关系及与肝细胞癌临床病理特征间的关系.结果:HCC中COX-2的表达阳性率达70.0%,分化好的HCC中COX-2蛋白的表达高于分化差的HCC(分化好vs分化差,P<0.05),转移组中COX-2蛋白表达高于无转移组(转移vs未转移,P<0.01);而COX-2蛋白的表达与肿瘤大小、有无包膜及AFP水平无关.肝细胞癌中VEGF的表达阳性率达86.7%,VEGF的表达与肿瘤有无包膜及转移有关,而与肿瘤大小、分化程度及AFP水平无关.结论:COX-2在肝细胞癌中高表达,并能诱导VEGF的表达.

AIM： To investigate the expressions and correlation of cyclooxygenase-2 （COX-2） and vascular endothelial growth factor （VEGF） in hepatocellular carcinoma. METHODS ： Paraffin-embedded tissues from 30 hepatocellular carcinoma patients were detected by the method of SP immunohistochemical staining for protein expressions of COX-2 and VEGF. The relationship between their expressions and clinicopathologic features was analyzed. RESULTS： The positive rate of COX-2 was 70.0% （21/31） in these patients. The well -differentiated HCC expressed COX-2 protein stronger than the poor-differentiated one （P 〈 0.05）. The cases with HCC metastasis expressed COX-2 protein stronger than those without metastasis （ P 〈 0.01 ）. The protein expression of COX-2 in HCC was not related to the tumor size, the envelope and the level of AFP. VEGF protein expression was significantly higher in patients with metastasis or envelope （P 〈 0.05 ）, but not related to the tumor size, the pathological grade and the level of AFP. CONCLUSION： The high expression of COX-2 in HCC can induce the high expression of VEGF. The coexpression of COX-2 and VEGF might play an important role in angiogenesis, thus promoting the growth, invasion and metastasis of HCC.