ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the difference of hypoxia-inducible factor 1a (HIF-1a) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression in endometrial cancer and para-carcinoma tissues, and to explore the clinical significance of hypoxia and the two proteins in the development and progression of endometrial cancer. Methods From Jan. 2011 to Dec. 2012, 128 patients with endometrial cancer underwent surgery in Tongji Hospital of Tongji University. The expression of HIF-1a and VEGF in cancer tissues and paired para-carcinoma tissues was detected using immunohistochemical method. The patients were followed up regularly, and the relationship between the expression of HIF-1a and VEGF and the prognosis of the patients was analyzed. The hypoxic cell model of human endometrial cancer was constructed to detect the expression of HIF-1a and VEGF proteins and observe the cell proliferation, invasion and apoptosis. Results The positive rates of HIF-1a and VEGF in cancer tissues were significantly higher than those in the para-carcinoma tissues (both P0.05). In the hypoxic cell model of human endometrial cancer, the expression levels of HIF-1a and VEGF were significantly increased, cell proliferation and invasion were significantly increased, and the cell apoptosis was significantly reduced (all P<0.05). Conclusion HIF-1a and VEGF are related to the progress of endometrial cancer, and positive expression of HIF-1a indicates a poor prognosis.