Vasculogenic mimicry and E-cadherin expression in epithelial ovarian cancer

AIM: To explore whether vasculogenic mimicry (VM) exists in human epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), and to elucidate the relationship between E-cadherin (E-cad) expression and VM. METHODS: The E-cad expression and VM in 80 specimens of EOC and 20 specimens of benign ovarian epithelial tumor tissues were detected by the methods of immunohistochemical and histochemical staining. RESULTS: The positive rates of VM and E-cad protein in EOC were 57.4% and 48.7%, respectively.The positive rates of VM and E-cad protein in benign epithelial tumor tissues were 0% and 75.0%, respectively.There was a significant difference between the two groups (P<0.05 or P<0.01). The E-cad expression and VM in EOC was significantly related to differentiation, metastasis to abdominal organ and lymphnode, and PTNM stage (P<0.05). A negative relationship between the expression of E-cad and VM (r=-0.578,P<0.01) was also observed. PTNM stage, metastasis to abdominal organ and lymphnode, the expression of E-cad and VM were independent prognosis factors of EOC patients after total correction (P<0.05). The five-year survival rate between VM-positive group and VM-negative group was significantly different (4.3% vs 88.2%), while the five-year survival rate was significantly lower in E-cad-negative group than that in E-cad-positive group (9.8% vs 71.8%). CONCLUSION: EOC with VM has a poor differentiation and a bad clinical prognosis. The levels of VM and E-cad correlate with the progression and prognosis of EOC.     

Expression of PARP-1 in epithelial ovarian cancer and its relationship with epithelial-mesenchymal transition

AIM: To investigate the expression of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1(PARP-1) in the epithelial ovarian cancer(EOC) and its relationship with epithelial-mesenchymal transition(EMT). METHODS: The expression of PARP-1, E-cadherin, vimentin and Snail was detected in the EOC and benign ovarian tumor tissues by immunohistochemical method and real-time PCR. The expression of PARP-1, E-cadherin, vimentin and Snail proteins in the SKOV3 cells treated with efficient PARP-1 inhibitor PJ34 was determined by Western blotting. RESULTS: The positive expression rates of PARP-1, vimentin and Snail were significantly higher in the EOC than that in the benign ovarian tumor tissues, whereas the positive expression rate of E-cadherin was the opposite(P<0.05). The expression of PARP-1, E-cadherin, vimentin and Snail in the EOC was associated with the histological grade, clinical stage and lymphatic metastasis(P<0.05), but no relationship with age and pathological types was observed. The expression of E-cadherin in the EOC was negatively co-related to that of PARP-1. In contrast, the expression of vimentin and Snail in the EOC was positively co-related to that of PARP-1. The relative mRNA expression of PARP-1, vimentin and Snail in the EOC was significantly higher than that in the benign ovarian tumor tissues(P<0.05), while the mRNA expression of E-cadherin in the EOC was remarkably lower than that in the benign ovarian tumor tissues(P<0.05). The protein expression of PARP-1, vimentin and Snail in the SKOV3 cells was significantly decreased(P<0.05), while E-cadherin protein was increased after treated with PJ34(P<0.05). CONCLUSION: PARP-1 may contribute to the onset of EMT in the EOC by regulating the expression of E-cadherin, vimentin and Snail. The role of PARP-1, which is relevant to EMT, might be important in the development of ovarian cancer.     

Expression of EphA2 and ephrin-A1 in endometrial endometrioid adenocarcinoma and their relationship with angiogenesis

AIM: To investigate the expression of erythropoietin-producing hepatocellular receptor A2 (EphA2) and its ligand ephrin-A1 in endometrial endometrioid adenocarcinoma (EEA), and to analyze their relationship with angiogenesis of the tumor. METHODS: The CD34-stained microvessel density (MVD) and the expression of ephA2 and ephrin-A1 were detected by immunohistochemical assay in 56 cases of EEA, 20 cases of endometrial hyperplasia, 30 cases of normal proliferative endometrium and 30 cases of normal secretory endometrium. The correlations among the expression of EphA2 and ephrin-A1, MVD and clinicopathological features were analyzed. RESULTS: MVD and the expression of EphA2 and ephrin-A1 in EEA were significantly higher than those in the tissues from endometrial hyperplasia and normal endometrium (P<0.05). They were related to FIGO stage, histological differentiation, depth of myometrial invasion, lymphovascular invasion and progesterone receptor expression (P<0.05). A significant positive correlation between MVD and the expression of EphA2 and ephrin-A1 was observed by Spearman rank correlation test (r=0.476, P<0.05; r=0.501, P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Overexpression of EphA2 and its ligand ephrin-A1 in EEA may be involved in the angiogenesis and progesterone resistance.     

Expression of VEGFR-3, CD31 and their correlation with metastasis in ovarian epithelial tumors

AIM: To investigate the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-3 (VEGFR-3) and CD31 in relation to metastasis in ovarian epithelial tumors. METHODS: VEGFR-3 and CD31 expression were examined by immunohistochemical methods, VEGFR-3 positive microlymphatic count (MLC) and microvessel density (MVD) were assessed by the image analysis. RESULTS: Both MLC and MVD in ovarian epithelial carcinomas were higher than those in benign tumors(MLC, P＜0.05; MVD, P＜0.01). In ovarian epithelial carcinomas, MLC and MVD were higher in the cases of clinical stage Ⅲ-Ⅳ and with lymphatic metastasis than those of clinical stage Ⅰ-Ⅱ and without lymphatic metastasis, respectively (P＜0.05 or P＜0.01) . There were no significant differences between MLC, MVD and histologic type, histologic grade(differentiation) in ovarian epithelial carcinomas(P＞0.05). CONCLUSIONS: VEGFR-3 and CD31 expression correlate significantly with metastasis, MLC and MVD might predict peritumoral lymphangiogenesis and angiogenesis, which may be as a biologic marker for metastasis in ovarian epithelial tumors.     

Expression and clinical significance of Bmi-1 in gastric carcinoma

AIM: To investigate the relationship between expression of Bmi-1 (B cell-specific MLV integration site-1) in gastric cancer and its clinicopathologic significance.METHODS: 146 surgical patients with gastric carcinoma were followed up at least 2 years.Expression of Bmi-1 protein was examined by immunohistochemistry in their archival paraffin embedded tissue specimens.RESULTS: The intensive positive rate of Bmi-1 expression in gastric cancer was 67.8% (99/146).Expression of Bmi-1 was highly correlated with tumor size,clinical stage,lymph node metastasis and T classification (P<0.05),but not with sex,age,tumor differentiation,etc.(P>0.05).The survival rate in the patients with Bmi-1 expression was much lower than that in those patients without Bmi-1 expression (P<0.01).Multivariate analysis indicated that Bmi-1 expression,T classification,lymph node metastasis,distant metastasis,tumor size and postoperative chemotherapy were all significantly prognostic factors of gastric carcinoma.CONCLUSION: Overexpression of Bmi-1 in patients with gastric carcinoma enhances the possibility of invasion and metastasis,implying a poor prognosis.Bmi-1 may serve as fairly a good prognostic factor to indicate biologic behavior and prognosis in gastric carcinoma.     

Expressions of VEGF,ANG-1,ANG-2 and TSP-1 in cholangiocellular carcinoma and relationship with tumor angiogenesis,differentiation,invasion and metastasis

AIM: To investigate the angiogenesis status,the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF),angiopoietin-1 (ANG-1),angiopoietin-2 (ANG-2),thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) in cholangiocellular carcinoma (CCC) and relationship with tumor angiogenesis,differentiation,invasion and metastasis.METHODS: 33 specimen of surgically resected CCC were investigated.Immunohistochemical staining of CD34,VEGF,ANG-1,ANG-2 and TSP-1 was carried out.RESULTS: The mean MVD was (87.2±52.6)/mm2.VEGF positive expression was found in 75.6% cases;ANG-1 positive expression was observed in 36% cases;ANG-2 positive was detected in 57.6% cases and 45.5% cases exhibited positive TSP-1 expression.VEGF and ANG-2 expressions were found to be associated with significant higher level of MVD (P<0.01 and P<0.05,respectively).TSP-1 expression was found to be associated with significant low level of MVD (P<0.01).Positive TSP-1 expression was also found to be associated with higher level of intrahepatic metastasis (46.7% vs 5.6%,P<0.05).CONCLUSION: Considerable angiogenesis compared to other solid tumors can be observed in CCC.VEGF and ANG-2 might play a proangiogenic role and TSP-1 may play an inhibitory role.Although TSP-1 may increase the intrahepatic metastasis of CCC,neither MVD levels nor the expression of VEGF,ANG-1,or ANG-2 is associated with tumor differentiation,invasion and metastasis.     

Calreticulin promotes migration and invasion of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells by inducing cell EMT

AIM:To observe the expression of calreticulin (CRT) in nasopharyngeal carcinoma tissues, analyze the significance of clinical pathology and the influence on epithelial-mesencymal transition (EMT) of CNE2 cells. METHODS:The expression of calreticulin was detected by immunohistochemistry in 52 nasopharyngeal carcinoma and 57 nasopharyngeal benign tissues, and the significance of clinical pathology was evaluated. The calreticulin gene-specific small interfering RNA was constructed, and then was transfected into the NPC cell line CNE2 using the cationic liposome method. The effect of CRT on the morphological changes of the CNE2 cells was observed under light microscope. The effect of CRT on the cell migration and invasion abilities of the CNE2 cells was detected by Transwell migration and invasion assays. The expression of EMT-related proteins E-cadherin, vimentin, transforming growth factor (TGF)-β and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 in the CNE2 cells was determined by Western blot. RESULTS:The positive expression rate of CRT in the benign lesion tissues was 19.29% (11/57), which was significantly increased in the nasopharyngeal carcinoma tissues as 82.69% (43/52). The expression rate of CRT was positively correlated with the stage of nasopharyngeal carcinoma and lymph node metastasis (P<0.05). Knockdown of CRT expression made the CNE2 cells showing a spindle shape to a flat, cobblestone-like epithelial state change, arranged more compact, and the migration and invasion abilities were significantly decreased (P<0.05). Knockdown of CRT expression resulted in significant increase in the protein expression of E-cadhe-rin, and the decreases in the protein expression of vimentin, TGF-β and MMP-9 in the CNE2 cells (P<0.05). CONCLUSION:Calreticulin expression in nasopharyngeal carcinoma is significantly higher and positively correlated with nasopharyngeal carcinoma stage and lymph node metastasis. Calreticulin promotes cell migration and invasion of nasopharyngeal carcinoma CNE2 cells by inducing EMT.     

Relationship between genetic instability of nm23H1 gene and clinical pathological characteristic in hepatocellular carcinoma

AIM: The aim of this study was to examine the microstatellite instability (MSI) and loss of heterozygosity(LOH) of locus D17S396 on chromosome 17 and their influence on the expression of nm23H1 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC),which may provide experimental evidence for the mechanism of nm23H1 gene and tumor metastasis.METHODS: Techniques such as DNA extraction from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues,PCR-SSCP,ordinary silver stain were used to study MSI and LOH of locus D17S396.Envision immunohistochemistry and Leica-Qwin computer imaging techniques were used to assess the expression of nm23H1.RESULTS: ① The frequency of heredity instability of HCCs was 35.42%.The frequency of LOH in the cases with lymph node or distant organs metastasis or not and with intrahepatic metastasis or embolus of portal vein or not was significantly different (P<0.01),it was higher in stage TNM Ⅲ than that in stageⅠ and Ⅱ.Moreover,it was higher in high tendency to invasion or metastasis cases than that in the low tendency cases (P<0.01).② The expression of nm23H1 was 56.25%.It was significantly different in Edmondson grade,TNM stage and in lymph node or distant organ metastasis cases (P<0.01).The cases with high tendency of invasion or metastasis exhibited lower nm23H1 expression compared with low tendency cases (P<0.01).③ The positive rate of nm23H1 protein in LOH positive group was lower than that in LOH negative group (P<0.05).CONCLUSION: The results indicate that both MSI and LOH of nm23H1 gene control the development of HCC independently in different pathways.LOH inhibits the expression of nm23H1,which endows it with high aggressive and poor prognosis.Increase in the amount of nm23H1 protein expression effectively restrains the tendency to invasion or metastasis of HCCs and improves prognosis of patients.     

Relationship between RUNX3,cyclin E,P21 and survival in gastric cancer patients

AIM:To evaluate the relationship between RUNX3,cyclin E,P21,biological features and survival in gastric cancer patients.METHODS:RUNX3 was examined using immunohistochemical staining.Cyclin E and P21 were analyzed by flow cytometry.Survival was evaluated by Kaplan-Meier survival curves.RESULTS:The positive-expression rate of RUNX3,cyclin E and P21 in tumor tissue from 56 patients with gastric cancer were 44.6%,64.3% and 32.1%,respectively.RUNX3 expression was correlated with lymph node metastasis and distant metastasis (P<0.05).Cyclin E might be related to depth of invasion,lymph node metastasis and distant metastasis (P<0.05).P21 was correlated with lymph node metastasis (P<0.05).It was revealed that RUNX3 and P21 were correlated (r=0.57,P<0.05),no correlation between RUNX3 and cyclin E was observed (r=0.25,P>0.05).Using Kaplan-Meier survival curves and the Log-rank test,there was correlation between RUNX3,cyclin E and survival (P<0.05).No correlation between P21 and survival was observed (P>0.05).CONCLUSION:RUNX3 may be related with tumorigenesis and tumor progression by affecting P21 expression.The detection of RUNX3 and cyclin E may be helpful in evaluating the clinicopathological parameters and prognosis in gastric carcinoma patients.     

Relationship between c-erbB-2, BCSG1 expression and recurrence,metastasis in breast cancer

AIM: To assess the significance of c-erbB-2, BCSG1 (breast cancer specific gene-1) expression and other parameters in recurrence or metastasis of breast cancer. METHODS: The expression of c-erbB-2, BCSG1, and ER, PR, MVD, VEGF, VEGF-C, FLT-4, LVD were determined with the SP immunohistochemical method in 58 cases of invasive breast cancer patients occurred over 5 years. The cases were used to analyze the effect of c-erbB-2, BCSG1, VEGF-C and ER, PR, MVD, VEGF, FLT-4, LVD expression on clinical-pathological manifestations and prognosis in breast cancer. RESULTS: The expression rates of c-erbB-2, BCSG1, VEGF-C, LVD were respectively 25.9%, 62.1%, 36.2%, 32.8% in association with the lymph node metastasis and recurrence of breast cancer (P<0.05), the expression rate of MVD was also increased significantly (P＜0.05). CONCLUSION: The c-erbB-2, BCSG1, VEGF-C, LVD are highly expressed and strongly correlated with the lymph node metastasis and recurrence of breast cancer, of which BCSG1 may be used as a predictor of prognosis.     

Expression and clinical significance of PAK4 in non-small cell lung cancer

AIM: To investigate the expression and clinical significance of PAK4 in the cell lines and tissues of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). METHODS: PAK4 expression in human bronchial epithelial (HBE) cells, NSCLC cell lines, NSCLC tissues and adjacent non-tumor tissues were assessed by immunohistochemistry, real-time PCR and Western blot. Prognostic value of PAK4 expression was evaluated by Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox regression. RESULTS: PAK4 was over-expressed in the NSCLC cell lines at both mRNA and protein levels compared with HBE cells (P<0.05). PAK4 was over-expressed in the NSCLC tissues at both mRNA and protein levels compared with adjacent non-tumor tissues (P<0.05). PAK4 was over-expressed in the metastatic NSCLC tissues compared with the primary NSCLC tissues (P<0.05). Higher PAK4 staining scores were positively correlated with differentiation, lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis, and clinical stage. Kaplan-Meier analysis and log-rank test showed that overall survival was significantly different between the patients with up-regulated PAK4 and the patients with down-regulated PAK4(P<0.05). PAK4 over-expression was associated with NSCLC progression.CONCLUSION: Increased PAK4 expression was associated with tumor invasion, metastasis and prognosis in the patients with NSCLC. PAK4 is an important prognostic marker and potential therapeutic target in NSCLC.     

Correlation between E-cadherin and FOXO3a expression in gastric can-cer tissues and cells

AIM: To investigate the expression of E-cadherin and forkhead box protein O3a (FOXO3a) in gastric cancer tissues and cells, and its correlation with cell viability. METHODS: The expression of E-cadherin and FOXO3a was detected by immunohistochemical staining in 53 specimens of gastric cancer tissues and their adjacent tissues, and the relationship between their expression and clinicopathological characteristics were analyzed. E-cadherin-over-expressing gastric cancer AGS cells were constructed by lentivirus-mediated cell transfection, and the protein expression of E-cadherin and FOXO3a was detected by immunocytochemistry method. The expression of E-cadherin, FOXO3a, Akt, Bcl-2 and Bax was determined by Western blot. The cell viability was detected by CCK-8 assay. RESULTS: The positive expression rates of E-cadherin and FOXO3a proteins in gastric cancer tissues were both significantly lower than those in their adjacent tissues (P<0.05). E-cadherin positive expression in gastric cancer tissues was significantly related to tumor grade and TNM stage (P<0.05), but not related to age, sex, location, T stage or lymph node metastasis. FOXO3a positive expression was significantly related to tumor grade (P<0.05), but not related to age, sex, location, TNM stage, T stage or lymph node metastasis. The expression of E-cadherin was positively correlated with FOXO3a expression in gastric cancer tissues (r=0.376, P=0.003). After over-expression of E-cadherin, the viability of gastric cancer AGS cells was significantly inhibited, the expression of FOXO3a, Bcl-2 and Bax was significantly increased, and the expression of Akt was significantly decreased. CONCLUSION: E-cadherin and FOXO3a are involved in the development of gastric cancer, and E-cadherin may affect the viability of gastric cancer cells by regulating Akt/FOXO3a signaling pathway.     

Expression of Foxp3+ Tregs and PD1 in gastric cancer tissues and their correlation with clinicopathological factors and prognosis

AIM: To investigate the expression of Foxp3⁺ regulatory T cells (Foxp3⁺ Tregs) and programmed death receptor 1 (PD1) in gastric cancer tissues and their association with clinicopathological factors and prognosis of the patients. The correlation between the 2 molecules was also analyzed at the same time. METHODS: The tumor sections from 111 gastric cancer patients were stained for Foxp3 and PD1 by the method of immunohistochemistry. The associations of the expression levels of these 2 molecules with clinicopathological factors involved in the disease progression and prognosis were statistically analyzed. The relationship of their expression was detected. RESULTS: Foxp3⁺ Tregs and PD1 were expressed in the gastric cancer tissues, and PD1 was expressed in the tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs). The expression of Foxp3 and PD1 was correlated with lymph node metastasis, clinicopathological stage and prognosis of gastric cancer patients. The expression of these 2 determinants in the patients with lymph node metastasis and an advanced clinicopathological stage was distinctly higher (P <0.05). The patients with positive expression of the 2 indexes presented a lower overall survival rate and worse prognosis (P <0.05). A significantly positive correlation between the infiltration of Foxp3⁺ Tregs and the expression of PD1⁺ TILs was also observed (P <0.01).CONCLUSION: Foxp3⁺ Tregs and PD1⁺ TILs co-infiltrate in the gastric cancer tissues, which can be used as biological markers to predict the disease progression and prognosis.     

Methylation and mRNA expression of TIG1 gene in esophageal squamous-cell carcinoma tissues

AIM: To investigate the expression and promoter methylation of tazarotene-induced gene-1 (TIG1) in esophageal squamous-cell carcinoma (ESCC) tissues. METHODS: The methods of methylation-specific PCR and real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR were applied to examine the methylation and mRNA expression of TIG1, respectively, in 43 cases of ESCC tissues, 20 cases of paracancerous tissues and 15 cases of normal tissues. RESULTS: The frequency of promoter methylation of TIG1 gene in ESCC tissues was 25.6% (11/43), which was significantly higher than that in the paracancerous tissues (5.0%, 1/20) and normal tissues (0/20). The hypermethylation of TIG1 gene in these tissues had no correlation with sex, age and clinical stage of the patients. However, it was correlated with the pathological stage (P<0.01) and lymph node metastasis (P<0.05). The mRNA expression of TIG1 in ESCC tissues was significantly lower than that in paracancerous tissues (P<0.05) and normal tissues (P<0.01). However, the expression level of TIG1 mRNA in methylated tissues was significantly lower than that in unmethylated tissues (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: Promoter methylation may be an important mechanism of TIG1 gene inactivation in ESCC, which was related to lymph node metastasis and TNM stage of esophageal carcinoma.     

Prognostic significance of NAD(P)H-quinone oxidoreductase 1 overexpression in ovarian mucinous cystadenocarcinoma

AIM: To investigate the significance of NAD(P) H-quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) protein overexpression for prognostic evaluation of ovarian mucinous cystadenocarcinoma.METHODS: NQO1 protein was detected in 162 cases of ovarian mucinous cystadenocarcinoma, 35 cases of ovarian mucinous cystadenoma and 29 samples of normal ovarian epithelial tissues by the method of EnVision immunohistochemical staining. The correlation between high expression of NQO1 protein and clinicopathological features of ovarian mucinous cystadenocarcinoma was also evaluated. Overall survival and disease-free survival rates of ovarian mucinous cystadenocarcinoma patients were calculated by Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: The positive rate and strongly positive rate of NQO1 protein were 85.8% and 64.2% in ovarian mucinous cystadenocarcinoma, respectively, which are significantly higher than those in ovarian mucinous cystadenoma, and normal ovarian epithelial tissues (P<0.01). NQO1 expression was significantly correlated with the histological grade (P<0.05) and clinical stage (P<0.01) of ovarian mucinous cystadenocarcinoma. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that the overall survival rate and disease-free survival rate were significantly higher in ovarian mucinous cystadenocarcinoma patients with high NQO1 expression than those with low NQO1 expression (P<0.01).CONCLUSION: NQO1 expression is closely correlated with the progression and prognosis of the patients with ovarian mucinous cystadenocarcinoma. High expression of NQO1 protein may be used as an important indicator for the patients with poor prognosis of ovarian mucinous cystadenocarcinoma.     

Angiogenic effect of HIF-1α on extranodal nasal-type NK/T-cell lymphoma

AIM: To study the angiogenic effect of hypoxia inducible factor 1α(HIF-1α) and its significance on human extranodal nasal-type NK/T-cell lymphoma. METHODS: The protein levels of HIF-1α, vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF) and VEGF receptor 2(VEGFR2) in human extranodal nasal-type NK/T-cell lymphoma were detected by immunohistochemistry. Microvessel density (MVD) of the tumor tissues was determined by labeling of microvessel endothelium with CD34 antibody. The correlation between the expression of HIF-1α, VEGF and VEGFR2 and MVD was analyzed with SPSS 13.0 statistical software. RESULTS: The positive expression of HIF-1α was observed in 39 cases (39/50, 78%) and the positive expression of VEGFR2 was 27 cases (27/50, 54%) of human extranodal nasal-type NK/T-cell lymphoma. A statistical difference of HIF-1α and VEGFR2 expression between tumor tissues and normal lymphocytes in lymph node was observed (P<0.05). In the tumor tissues, the co-expression of VEGF or VEGFR2 with HIF-1α was 72% and 64%, respectively, significantly higher than that without HIF-1α co-expression (P<0.05). The expression of HIF-1α, VEGFR and VEGFR2 was positively correlated with MVD of the tumor tissues (P<0.01). HIF-1α was expressed in all 15 cases of extranodal nasal-type NK/T-cell lymphoma with angiocentric infiltration.CONCLUSION: HIF-1α may promote angiogenesis of extranodal nasal-type NK/T-cell lymphoma through VEGF/VEGFR2 signaling pathway.     

Expression of chemokine receptor CCR7 and VEGF-C is associated with prognosis of breast carcinoma

AIM: To explore the protein levels of chemokine receptor 7 (CCR7) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-C in breast carcinoma, and to investigate the effects of CCR7 and VEGF-C on prognosis of breast carcinoma. METHODS: The protein expression levels of CCR7 and VEGF-C in the breast carcinoma tissues and normal breast tissues were detected by the method of immunohistochemistry. At the same time, the relationship between clinicopathologic characteristics and the protein expression of CCR7 and VEGF-C in the breast carcinoma tissues was analyzed. The relationship between the protein expression of CCR7 and VEGF-C and survival time of the breast cancer patients was estimated by Kaplan-Meier method.RESULTS: The positive expression rates of CCR7 and VEGF-C in the breast carcinoma tissues were significantly higher than those in the normal breast tissues (P<0.01). A positive correlation was observed between the protein expression of CCR7 and the protein expression of VEGF-C in the breast carcinoma tissues (r=0.613, P<0.01). The protein expression of CCR7 and VEGF-C was correlated with lymph node metastasis and TNM stage (P<0.05), but both were not related to patients' age, primary tumor size, estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor. The survival time of the patients with CCR7 and VEGF-C positive expression was significantly shorter than that of the patients without the expression (P<0.05).CONCLUSION: The positive expression of CCR7 and VEGF-C proteins is associated with the prognosis of breast cancer, and combined detection of CCR7 and VEGF-C protein expression levels may be helpful to judge the prognosis of breast cancer.     

Relationship between the expression of MMP-2, TIMP-2 and VEGF-C in hepatocellular carcinoma with or without lymph node metastasis

AIM: To investigate the relationship between the expression of MMP-2, TIMP-2 and VEGF-C in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with or without lymph node metastasis. METHODS: The expression of MMP-2, TIMP-2 and VEGF-C in 44 cases of HCC were examined using immunohistochemistry methods (SP).RESULTS: The positive expression of MMP-2, TIMP-2 and VEGF-C was associated with lymph node metastasis of HCC (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: There was a significant correlation between the high-expression of MMP-2 and VEGF-C, and the low-expression of TIMP-2 in lymph node metastasis of HCC. VEGF-C is an important factor promoting lymph node metastasis of HCC. The expression of MMP-2, TIMP-2 and VEGF-C may have important value in determining lymph node metastasis and prognosis of HCC.