ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To investigate the effect of primary tumorectomy on angiogenesis and pulmonary metastasis in osteosarcoma-bearing nude mice. METHODS: Osteosarcoma was introduced to nude mice via subcutaneous injection of MG-63 cells. One hundred and eighty osteosarcoma-bearing mice were used equally in 3 parallel experiments. The effect of tumorectomy (TR) on the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and endostatin was investigated by ELISA. Meanwhile, the effect on angiogenesis was evaluated by Matrigel plug assay, and pulmonary metastasis assessed by calculating the metastatic foci. Sham-operation (SO) and untreated (UT) groups served as controls. RESULTS: The VEGF (TR: 79.55 ± 7.82 pg/mL vs. SO: 110.01 ± 5.69 pg/mL, UT: 123.50 ± 10.41 pg/mL; p < 0.01) and endostatin (TR: 47.09 ± 6.22 ng/mL vs. SO: 117.64 ± 7.39 ng/mL, UT: 126.73 ± 6.55 ng/mL; p<0.01) were down-regulated significantly after tumorectomy, and angiogenesis was significantly promoted simultaneously. The incidence of pulmonary metastatic foci was 80.0% in the TR group, 40.0% in the SO group and 35.0% in the UT group. CONCLUSION: Primary tumorectomy can down-regulate the expression of VEGF and endostatin and promote angiogenesis which leads to the acceleration of pulmonary metastasis. These findings imply that anti-angiogenic treatment can be considered after primary tumorectomy.