ABSTRACT
Objective The invasion and metastasis of tumor cells depend on the growth of new blood vessels, and tumor neovascularization was regulated by a lots of factors. This study aimed to investigate the expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF -1α) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VECF) in retinoblastoma and explore the correlation of HIF-1α and VEGF with tumor invasion and metastasis and analyze their relationship with clinicopathology characters and determine their effect on angiogenesis. Methods Forty-six retinoblastoma specimens with different clinical stages were collected in Affiliated Second Hospital of Nanchang University. The specimens received neither radiotherapy nor chemotherapy. The retinal tissue near the tumor was as control. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of HIF-1α protein and VEGF protein in retinoblastoma. The relationship between expression of HIF-1α and VEGF and stage of tumor was analyzed. Results The HIF-1α and VEGF were highly expressed in the ischemia or necrosis area of retinoblastoma. Expression of HIF-1α was mainly in cell nuclear and partly in cytoplasm, and VEGF was mainly expressed in cytoplasm of tumor cells. The expression of HIF-1α and VEGF was gradually increased with the rising of tumor stage (P ＜ 0. 05) and showed significant correlation between expression of HIF-1α and VEGF with tumor stage(r_s =0. 943, P ＜0. 01). HIF-1α exepression was also possitively related to VEGF level in retinoblastoma (r, =0. 946, P ＜ 0. 01). Conclusion HIF-1α and VEGF were over-expressed in retinoblastoma cells, and the expressions were related to clinical staging, invasion and metastasis of tumor cells. The expression of HIF-1α and VEGF was one of the predictors for the biological behaviors of retinoblastoma. HIF-1α and VEGF may play an important role in angiogenesis and tumor progression in retinoblastoma.
