Prognostic Significance of COX-2 and VEGF-C Expression in Thyroid Papillary Carcinoma / 대한이비인후과학회지

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) may play a role in tumor growth and spread of numerous types of epithelial cancers since it can regulate tumor angiogenesis by modulating the production of several angiogenic factors, including vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). We investigated the correlation between COX-2 and VEGF-C expressions and different prognostic factors of thyroid papillary carcinoma. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: Thirty-eight patients with thyroid papillary carcinoma were analyzed by immunohistochemical staining to study the expressions of human COX-2 and VEGF-C and a semiquantitative scoring method was employed to determine their expression levels. The immunostaining scores were compared with different prognostic factors of thyroid papillary carcinoma. RESULTS: The mean scores+/-SD for COX-2 and VEGF-C were 3.9+/-3.6 and 4.7+/-3.1, respectively, and there was a significant correlation between their expressions. Among the prognostic factors of thyroid papillary carcinoma, age, sex, and tumor size made no significant differences between COX-2 and VEGF-C expressions. The expression of COX-2 was significantly associated with tumor stage and extracapsular spread, and VEGF-C with nodal metastasis and extracapular spread. CONCLUSION: Nodal metastasis, tumor stage, and extracapsular spread were found to be associated with the expressions of COX-2 and VEGF-C, and were concerned with the growth and metastasis of tumor. Therefore, COX-2 and VEGF-C may play important roles in the tumor growth and metastasis of thyroid papillary carcinoma, as in other epithelial cancers.