[Role of vasculogenic mimicry and endothelium-dependent vessel in metastasis of laryngeal cancer].

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the contribution of vasculogenic mimicry (VM) and endothelium-dependent vessel (EDV) to invasion and metastasis of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC).

METHODS

A total of 203 cases with LSCC was reviewed and followed up. VM and EDV in LSCC tissues were assessed by double staining with anti-CD31 immunohistochemistry and periodic acid-schiff. Kruskal-Wallis test and one-way ANOVA were used to analyze the relationship between VM, EDV and clinical pathology parameters of LSCC. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to evaluate overall survival (OS) of patients with LSCC.

RESULTS

VM related to pTNM stage, lymph node metastasis and pathology grade of LSCC, while EDV related to primary sites, pTNM stage, T stage and distant metastasis of LSCC. Univariate analysis showed VM (P = 0.014), pTNM stage (P = 0.009), T stage (P = 0.013), nodal status (P = 0.013), histopathology grade (P = 0.038), tumor size (P = 0.028), and radiotherapy (P < 0.0001) related to OS. VM (P = 0.011), primary sites (P = 0.049), tumor size (P = 0.001) and radiotherapy (P < 0.0001) related to disease free survival. Multivariate analysis indicated that VM was an adverse predictor for both OS and disease free survival.

CONCLUSIONS

Both VM and EDV existed in LSCC. VM contributed to progression of LSCC through promoting lymph node metastasis. VM is an independent predictor for the prognosis of LSCC.