Obermair A, Kucera E, Mayerhofer K, Speiser P, Seifert M, Czerwenka K, Kaider A, Leodolter S, Kainz C, Zeillinger R
Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics University Hospital of Vienna, Austria.
Int J Cancer. 1997 Aug 22;74(4):455-8. doi: 10.1002/(sici)1097-0215(19970822)74:4<455::aid-ijc17>3.0.co;2-8.
Studies have shown that microvessel density influences breast-cancer prognosis. Since tumor angiogenesis is considered to be substantially affected by the excretion of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) from tumor cells, we examined whether VEGF concentration is different in malignant and in non-malignant breast tissue. It was also of interest to discover whether intratumoral VEGF concentration influences disease-free survival (DFS) of breast-cancer patients. Analysis is based on 120 tissue specimens taken from breast fibromas (n = 23), normal epithelial breast tissue adjacent to fibromas (n = 8) and invasive breast cancer (n = 89). VEGF concentration was quantified by using an immunoassay. Microvessel density was determined by immunostaining for factor-VIII-related antigen. Median VEGF concentration is given in pg/mg protein (25%-quantile-75%-quantile) and it was 0 (0-1.8) in normal breast tissue, 9.8 (0.52-43.0) in fibromas and 130.4 (50.8-362.2) in invasive carcinomas. A univariate Cox model revealed that node status, tumor size, estrogen-receptor concentration, histological grading and microvessel density were prognostic factors for disease-free survival in breast cancer. We found a significant correlation between VEGF concentration and microvessel count, but VEGF concentration did not significantly influence disease-free survival. Although VEGF protein was found at a significantly higher concentration in malignant than in non-malignant tissue, determination of intratumoral VEGF protein by an enzyme immunoassay was not prognostically relevant in our patient population.
研究表明，微血管密度会影响乳腺癌的预后。由于肿瘤血管生成被认为会受到肿瘤细胞分泌的血管内皮生长因子（VEGF）的显著影响，因此我们研究了恶性和非恶性乳腺组织中VEGF浓度是否存在差异。探究肿瘤内VEGF浓度是否会影响乳腺癌患者的无病生存期（DFS）也很有意义。分析基于从乳腺纤维瘤（n = 23）、纤维瘤旁正常上皮乳腺组织（n = 8）和浸润性乳腺癌（n = 89）中获取的120份组织标本。通过免疫测定法对VEGF浓度进行定量。通过对VIII因子相关抗原进行免疫染色来确定微血管密度。VEGF浓度的中位数以pg/mg蛋白质表示（第25百分位数 - 第75百分位数），正常乳腺组织中为0（0 - 1.8），纤维瘤中为9.8（0.52 - 43.0），浸润性癌中为130.4（50.8 - 362.2）。单变量Cox模型显示，淋巴结状态、肿瘤大小、雌激素受体浓度、组织学分级和微血管密度是乳腺癌无病生存期的预后因素。我们发现VEGF浓度与微血管计数之间存在显著相关性，但VEGF浓度并未显著影响无病生存期。尽管在恶性组织中发现VEGF蛋白的浓度显著高于非恶性组织，但通过酶免疫测定法测定肿瘤内VEGF蛋白对我们的患者群体并无预后相关性。
