Department of Urology, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan.
Int J Urol. 2014 Feb;21(2):130-4. doi: 10.1111/iju.12231. Epub 2013 Aug 15.
To analyze the presence of immature vessels as a predictive factor of prognosis in patients with renal cell carcinoma.
Tissue samples were obtained from 50 renal cell carcinoma patients who underwent radical nephrectomy, and the blood vessels were stained using antibodies to cluster of differentiation 34 and α-smooth muscle actin. Immature vessels were defined as those positive for cluster of differentiation 34, and mature vessels as those positive for both cluster of differentiation 34 and α-smooth muscle actin. The extent of vascularization was quantified by calculating the microvessel area and microvessel density.
The microvessel area of immature vessels was positively associated with tumor grade (P < 0.0001), T stage (P < 0.0001) and American Joint Committee on Cancer stage (P < 0.0001), and was significantly higher in tumors with metastasis than in those without metastasis (P < 0.0001). The microvessel density did not associate with tumor grade or T stage. The disease-free survival and overall survival were significantly shorter in patients with high microvessel area.
The microvessel area of immature vessels seems to be associated with renal cell carcinoma aggressiveness, suggesting this might be considered as a novel prognostic factor in patients with these tumors.
分析不成熟血管的存在是否可作为预测肾细胞癌患者预后的一个因素。
对 50 例接受根治性肾切除术的肾细胞癌患者的组织样本进行了研究，并使用针对分化簇 34 和α-平滑肌肌动蛋白的抗体对血管进行染色。不成熟血管被定义为分化簇 34 阳性的血管，成熟血管被定义为同时分化簇 34 和α-平滑肌肌动蛋白阳性的血管。通过计算微血管面积和微血管密度来量化血管生成程度。
不成熟血管的微血管面积与肿瘤分级（P<0.0001）、T 分期（P<0.0001）和美国癌症联合委员会分期（P<0.0001）呈正相关，且在有转移的肿瘤中明显高于无转移的肿瘤（P<0.0001）。微血管密度与肿瘤分级或 T 分期无关。高微血管面积患者的无病生存率和总生存率明显缩短。
不成熟血管的微血管面积似乎与肾细胞癌的侵袭性相关，这表明不成熟血管的微血管面积可能被视为这些肿瘤患者的一种新的预后因素。
