ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the correlation of the expression of VEGF-C and VEGFR-3 to the pathological grade of human prostate cancer.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of VEGF-C and VEGFR-3 in 25 cases of prostate cancer tissues.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The total positivity rates of VEGF-C and VEGFR-3 were 80% and 76% in these cancer tissues, respectively. The positivity rates of VEGF-C was 94.7% in the 19 cases with Gleason scores no less than 6 (group I), significantly higher than the rate (33%) in the 6 cases with Gleason scores between 4 and 6 (group II) (P<0.01). The positivity rates for VEGFR-3 also showed a significant difference between groups I and II (89.5% vs 33.3%, P<0.05). The expression level of VEGF-C was correlated to the Gleason score of prostate cancer (R=0.436, P<0.05), and the correlation between VEGFR-3 and the Gleason score was even more obvious (R=0.608, P<0.01). Their expressions, however, did not show any correlations to the patients age, PSA or the volume of the prostate.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>VEGF-C and VEGFR-3 may serve as new markers for evaluating the malignancy of prostate cancer with Gleason score not less than 4.</p>