Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression correlates with p53 and ki-67 expressions in tongue squamous cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) plays an important role in angiogenesis, which is associated with tumor progression or metastasis.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Immunohistochemical analysis was performed in 109 patients with tongue squamous cell carcinoma. Cox's proportional hazards regression analysis was used to identify the multivariate predictive value of the prognostic factors.

RESULTS

High VEGF expression was found in 69 patients (63%) and low VEGF expression in 40 patients (37%). VEGF overexpression correlated with Ki-67 and p53 overexpressions (p=0.0034 and 0.0065, respectively). High VEGF expression was significantly associated with advanced stage (stage III and IV)(p=0.048). The 5-year relapse-free survival (RFS) rate of patients with high VEGF expression (20%) was significantly lower than that of patients with low VEGF expression (76%) (p<0.0001). Multivariate analysis revealed that VEGF expression and stage grouping were independent predictors for RFS (p<0.0001 and 0.04, respectively).

CONCLUSION

VEGF expression plays an important role in tumorprogression.