血管内皮生长因子-C及其受体Flt4表达与乳腺癌临床病理状态及预后相关性研究

Analysis of the correlation between VEGF-C and its receptor Flt4 expressions and clinicopathological status and prognosis of breast cancer

目的研究血管内皮生长因子-C(VEGF-C)及其受体Flt4在乳腺癌中的表达及其表达程度与肿瘤临床病理特征及预后的关系。方法收集手术切除后行石蜡包埋的乳腺癌标本60例,制作成4μm厚的连续切片,经免疫组织化学染色后观察乳腺癌组织中VEGF-C、Flt4的表达情况。结果(1)乳腺癌细胞VEGF-C与其受体Flt4表达呈正相关(P<0.01);(2)VEGF-C与PCNA表达显著相关(P<0.01);(3)Flt4与增殖细胞核抗原(PCNA)表达显著相关(P<0.01);(4)淋巴结转移组乳腺癌细胞VEGF-C/Flt4阳性指数明显高于未转移组(P<0.05);(5)VEGF-C与患者年龄、肿瘤大小、组织学分级、ER、PR及病理类型无统计学关系(均P>0.05);(6)VEGF-C与预后无统计学关系。结论VEGF-C/Flt4调控系统在乳腺癌细胞增殖中起一定的促进作用;VEGF-C/Flt4可能通过某种机制促进淋巴结转移;VEGF-C不能作为判断乳腺癌预后的独立指标。

Objective To clarify the expressions of VEGF-C and Flt4 in breast cancer and their relationship to clinicopathological status and prognosis of turnout. Methods Samples of 60 cases of breast cancer were collected after operation, then embedded with paraffin, sectioned in 4 um thickness , and stained immunohistochemically to observe the expressions of VEGF and its receptor Flt4 in breast cancer tissues. Results There was a positive correlation in the expression between VEGF-C and Flt4 （P 〈 0.01 ） , VEGF-C and proliferating cell nuclear antigen （ PCNA, P 〈 0.01 ）, and Flt4 and PCNA （ P 〈 0.01 ）. The positive index of VEGF-C/Flt4 of breast cancer in the metastatic lymph node group was higher than that in the non-metastatic lymph node group （P 〈 0.05 ）. No statistical relationship was found between the VEGF-C level and age, tumor size, histology grading, ER, PR and pathological types of breast cancer patients （ P 〉 0.05 respectively）. There was a statistical correlation between the outcome and the tumor size, lymph node metastasis, histology grading, ER, and PR in breast cancer patients （P 〈0.05）. VEGF-C was not statistically correlated with the outcome. Conclusion There is a strong positive relationship between VEGF-C expression and its receptor Flt4. VEGF-C/Flt4 promotes the proliferation of breast cancer cells. VEGF-C/Flt4 may accelerate lymph node metastasis through some ways, but is not correlated statistically with other clinicopathological characteristics like tumor size, histology grading, ER, PR and pathological types. Tumor size, lymph node metastasis, histology grading, ER and PR all have statistical correlation with the prognosis of breast cancer, so can be taken as indexes of predicting the prognosis of breast cancer. However, VEGF-C can not be used as an independent index in judging the prognosis of breast cancer.