Role of vasculogenic mimicry and endothelium-dependent vessel in metastasis of laryngeal cancer / 中华耳鼻咽喉头颈外科杂志

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the contribution of vasculogenic mimicry (VM) and endothelium-dependent vessel (EDV) to invasion and metastasis of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 203 cases with LSCC was reviewed and followed up. VM and EDV in LSCC tissues were assessed by double staining with anti-CD31 immunohistochemistry and periodic acid-schiff. Kruskal-Wallis test and one-way ANOVA were used to analyze the relationship between VM, EDV and clinical pathology parameters of LSCC. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to evaluate overall survival (OS) of patients with LSCC.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>VM related to pTNM stage, lymph node metastasis and pathology grade of LSCC, while EDV related to primary sites, pTNM stage, T stage and distant metastasis of LSCC. Univariate analysis showed VM (P = 0.014), pTNM stage (P = 0.009), T stage (P = 0.013), nodal status (P = 0.013), histopathology grade (P = 0.038), tumor size (P = 0.028), and radiotherapy (P < 0.0001) related to OS. VM (P = 0.011), primary sites (P = 0.049), tumor size (P = 0.001) and radiotherapy (P < 0.0001) related to disease free survival. Multivariate analysis indicated that VM was an adverse predictor for both OS and disease free survival.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Both VM and EDV existed in LSCC. VM contributed to progression of LSCC through promoting lymph node metastasis. VM is an independent predictor for the prognosis of LSCC.</p>