Studies on the intratumoral microvascular density (IMD) and the VEGF expression in malignant mesothelioma / 解放军医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To study the prognosis significance of intratumoral microvascular density(IMD)and the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF)in malignant mesothelioma.Methods The data of 79 cases were reviewed of malignant mesothelioma confirmed by histology,immunohistochemistry and telectron microscope.CD34 and the expression of VEGF were detected by Immunohistochemical method.Results The age of the patients with malignant mesothelioma ranged from 11 to 79 years.The peak incidence of malignant mesothelioma was at the range of 40-50 years.The sex ratio of male to female was 1.78∶1.The survival period of the 79 cases was between 5 and 160 months with the medial survival of 23 months.According to histological structure,these cases were divided into epithelioid type(51 cases),sarcomatous type(20 cases)and mixed type(8 cases).For the VEGF positive expression,epithelioid type was 26 cases(50.98%),sarcomatous type was 13 cases(65.00)and mixed type was 5 cases(62.50%).Based on the mean IMD,the patients with malignant mesothelioma were divided into two groups.The survival time of the patients in the higher IMD group was significantly shorter than those in the lower IMD group.The analysis,on the relation of VEGF expression to IMD,as well as survival time and histological subtype,showed that VEGF expression was positively correlated to IMD(P=0.02,r=0.330 2).A significant difference existed between the survival of VEGF positive expression and negative expression(P0.05).Conclusion The results suggest that the prognosis of malignant mesothelioma probably related with IMD and VEGF expression.The higher index of IMD and the higher expression of VEGF might imply a worse prognosis.