The correlation and clinical implication of VEGF-C expression in microvascular density and lymph node metastasis of gastric carcinoma.

As the most common malignant tumor, gastric cancer had persistently high occurrence and mortality rate worldwide. Unfavorable treating outcome occur due to distal metastasis, making the inhibition of angiogenesis and managing tumor metastasis being crucial factors for affecting prognosis. Vascular endothelial growth factor-C (VEGF-C) is one important angiogenesis factor and mainly facilitates proliferation and differentiation of vascular endothelial cells in angiogenesis. It has been indicated in development and occurrence in gastric cancer, while its expression and correlation with microvascular density (MVD)/lymph node metastasis are still unclear. A total of 52 gastric tumor and 25 normal tissue samples were recruited for quantifying mRNA and protein expression of VEGF-C by real-time PCR and Western blotting. MVD and lymph tube density were quantified for further analysis of the correlation between VEGF-C and pathological parameters including clinical stage and lymph node metastasis. Both mRNA and protein levels of VEGF-C were significantly elevated in gastric tissues (p<0.05). In lymph node metastasis cases, VEGF-C was further potentiated compared to non-metastatic group (p<0.05). VEGF-C expression was positively correlated with MVD, lymph tube density and clinical stage (p<0.05) but not with age, sex or differentiation grade. VEGF-C expression is closely correlated with lymph node metastasis of gastric cancer. It may participate in the progression of gastric cancer via facilitating angiogenesis and lymph node metastasis, thus can be used in predicting prognosis of patients with gastric carcinoma.