ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the expressions of hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) and vascular endothelial growth factor-C (VEGF-C) and the correlations with clinic parameters,and to make sure the effects of the two genes in the lymphangiogenesis and lymph node metastasis of breast cancer.Methods The expressions of HIF-1α and VEGF-C were investigated by means of immunohistochemistry in samples from 78 cases with breast cancer and 20 cases with breast benign lesions.The density of the lymphatic microvessels immunohistochemically stained by D2-40 antibody was calculated.The relationships between HIF-1α,VEGF-C,LVD and clinicopathological parameters were analyzed statistically.Results HIF-1α expression occurred in 52 out of the 78 tumor samples (66.67％),while VEGF-C expression was observed in 41 out of the 78 tumor samples (52.56％).HIF-1α and VEGF-C expressions in breast cancer were significantly higher than those in beingn disease (15％ and 10％ ; x2 =17.26,P =0.000; x2 =11.71,P =0.001).The expressions of HIF-1α and VEGF-C were significantly correlated with regional lymph nodal involvement (x2 =5.80,P =0.016; x2 =7.26,P =0.007) as well as late TNM classification (x2 =8.51,P=0.004; x2 =6.02,P =0.014),disregarding the patient's age,tumor diameter,histological grade and pathologic type (P ＞ 0.05).In addition,HIF-1α expression was positively correlated with VEGF-C expression (r =0.254,P =0.025).Higher LVD was found in both high HIF-1α and high VEGF-C expression cases (t =2.19,P=0.017; t =3.25,P=0.001).Conclusion HIF-1α may play a crucial role in the lymphangiogenesis and lymph node metastasis by regulating the expression of VEGF-C in breast cancer.Therefore,HIF-1α may become a particularly promising target for controlling lymph node metastasis in breast cancer.
ABSTRACT
Chemokine CCL5 and its receptor CCR5,as one of the chemokine family,are involved in the processes of many diseases and especially play an important role in breast cancer.Recent researches show that chemokine CCL5 and its receptor CCR5 have an obvious impact on the tumorigenesis,invasion,metastasis,therapy and prognosis of breast cancer.