Expression of COX-2 and VEGF-C in papillary thyroid carcinoma and their relationship to cervical lymph metastases / 临床耳鼻咽喉头颈外科杂志

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and vascular endothelial growth factor-C (VEGF-C) in papillary thyroid carcinoma and their relationship to cervical lymph metastases.@*METHOD@#In this study, the expressions of COX-2 and VEGF-C were examined by immunohistochemistry in papillary thyroid carcinoma tissues of 40 patients, and analysis was performed on the correlation of cervical lymph metastases with COX-2 and VEGF-C expression.@*RESULT@#Positive expressions of COX-2 and VEGF-C were 70.0% (28/40) and 75.0% (30/40) respectively in papillary thyroid carcinoma. The positive rates of COX-2 and VEGF-C expression were 80.8% (21/26) and 84.6% (22/26) respectively in patients with cervical lymph metastases, and 50.0% (7/14) and 57.1% (8/14) respectively in patients without cervical lymph metastases, with a statistically significant difference between two groups (P<0.05, all). COX-2 was positively correlated to VEGF-C expression in papillary thyroid carcinoma (r=0.378, P<0.05).@*CONCLUSION@#The results suggest that COX-2 and VEGF-C were highly expressed in papillary thyroid carcinoma, with possible interaction of their expressions, and may play a critical role in the cervical lymph metastases of papillary thyroid carcinoma.