Möbius Christian, Freire José, Becker Ingrid, Feith Marcus, Brücher Björn L D M, Hennig Michael, Siewert J Rüdiger, Stein Hubert J
Second Department of Surgery, University of Leipzig, Germany.
Second Department of Surgery, Santa Maria Hospital, Lisbon Medical School, Portugal.
World J Surg. 2007 Sep;31(9):1768-1772. doi: 10.1007/s00268-006-0373-1.
Vascular endothelial growth factor C (VEGF-C) is the only factor known to cause lymphangiogenesis. In esophageal cancer the histologic tumor type and lymph node metastasis are independent predictors of recurrence and poor outcome. To evaluate the rule of VEGF-C expression in esophageal cancer, we investigated 113 specimens, 59 squamous cell and 54 adenocarcinomas of the esophagus.
The expression of VEGF-C was evaluated using immunohistochemistry (IHC) on 59 paraffin-embedded archival specimens from patients with squamous cell esophageal carcinomas and 54 paraffin-embedded archival specimens of patients with esophageal adenocarcinomas arising in Barrett's mucosa. All patients had a complete tumor resection. A complete and updated follow-up was available for all patients.
The expression of VEGF-C was significantly different between the two histological types of esophageal tumors. Patients with squamous cell carcinoma and lymph node metastases had a significantly higher VEGF-C expression (P < 0.01). In patients with adenocarcinoma of the esophagus there was no correlation between VEGF-C expression and clinicopathological parameters. High VEGF-C expression tended to be correlated with poor survival in squamous cell cancer but not in adenocarcinoma of the esophagus.
The present study indicates that VEGF-C may play a role in tumor progression via lymphangiogenesis in squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus. This seems not to be true for the adenocarcinoma of the esophagus. These data could help with the understanding of the different onset and characteristics of lymph node metastasis in squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma of the esophagus.
血管内皮生长因子C（VEGF-C）是已知唯一可导致淋巴管生成的因子。在食管癌中，肿瘤组织学类型和淋巴结转移是复发及预后不良的独立预测因素。为评估VEGF-C在食管癌中的表达规律，我们研究了113份标本，其中59份为食管鳞状细胞癌，54份为食管腺癌。
采用免疫组织化学（IHC）方法评估59例食管鳞状细胞癌患者石蜡包埋存档标本及54例起源于巴雷特黏膜的食管腺癌患者石蜡包埋存档标本中VEGF-C的表达。所有患者均接受了肿瘤完整切除。所有患者均有完整且更新的随访资料。
两种组织学类型的食管肿瘤中VEGF-C的表达存在显著差异。伴有淋巴结转移的鳞状细胞癌患者VEGF-C表达显著更高（P < 0.01）。在食管腺癌患者中，VEGF-C表达与临床病理参数之间无相关性。高VEGF-C表达在食管鳞状细胞癌中往往与较差的生存率相关，但在食管腺癌中并非如此。
本研究表明，VEGF-C可能通过淋巴管生成在食管鳞状细胞癌的肿瘤进展中发挥作用。食管腺癌似乎并非如此。这些数据有助于理解食管鳞状细胞癌和腺癌淋巴结转移的不同发病机制及特征。
