Clinicopathological significance of p53, hypoxia-inducible factor 1alpha, and vascular endothelial growth factor expression in colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND

The principal objective of this study was to evaluate the prognostic significances of p53, hypoxia inducible factor-1 alpha (HIF-1α), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression in colorectal cancer.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The tumor tissues of 311 patients with colorectal carcinoma that had undergone potentially curative resections were immunohistochemically assessed using monoclonal antibodies against p53, HIF-1α, and VEGF.

RESULTS

Positivity rates of p53, HIF-1α, and VEGF were 42.4%, 63.0%, and 56.6%, respectively. HIF-1α expression in tumor tissues was determined to be correlated significantly with the expression of VEGF (p=0.040), and depth of invasion (p=0.019). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that HIF-1α was independently associated with poor overall survival (p=0.002).

CONCLUSION

HIF-1α expression is associated with VEGF expression and angiogenesis in colorectal carcinoma. Additionally, the expression of HIF-1α in tumor tissue is associated with angiogenesis and poor overall survival in patients with colorectal cancer.