Hartenbach E M, Olson T A, Goswitz J J, Mohanraj D, Twiggs L B, Carson L F, Ramakrishnan S
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Wisconsin, Madison 53792, USA.
Cancer Lett. 1997 Dec 23;121(2):169-75. doi: 10.1016/s0304-3835(97)00350-9.
Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression and microvessel density were studied in cases of advanced epithelial ovarian carcinoma to evaluate their usefulness as prognostic variables. Tumor samples from 18 patients with advanced stage serous epithelial ovarian cancer were evaluated for VEGF expression by reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis. Immunohistochemical study of corresponding archival tissues with an antibody to von Willebrand factor (vWF; FVIII-RA) was used for tumor microvessel count determinations. The correlation of VEGF expression and mean microvessel counts was determined by an unpaired t-test. Survival analysis for known prognostic factors and VEGF expression was performed. Survival distributions were calculated by the product limit of Kaplan and Meier and significant differences between distributions were analyzed with a log rank test. From the RT-PCR analysis of tumor VEGF expression, 12 samples were found to be strongly positive, whereas six samples had low/negative VEGF expression. The median survival was 60 months for the VEGF-low/negative group and 28 months for the VEGF-positive group (P = 0.058). Other prognostic variables had minimal impact on survival, i.e. age < 65 years (P = 0.873), FIGO stage (P = 0.06), grade (P = 0.236) and debulking status (P = 0.842). Fourteen of 18 tumor specimens were suitable for microvessel counting. The mean microvessel counts of the VEGF-positive group and the VEGF-negative group were 27/hpf and 35/hpf, respectively (P = 0.16). In this preliminary analysis, high VEGF expression in epithelial ovarian carcinomas was associated with poor overall survival. Further study will be necessary to elucidate the lack of association of VEGF expression and tumor microvessel counts.
研究晚期上皮性卵巢癌病例中的血管内皮生长因子（VEGF）表达及微血管密度，以评估其作为预后变量的效用。通过逆转录聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）分析，对18例晚期浆液性上皮性卵巢癌患者的肿瘤样本进行VEGF表达评估。采用针对血管性血友病因子（vWF；FVIII-RA）的抗体对相应存档组织进行免疫组织化学研究，以确定肿瘤微血管计数。通过非配对t检验确定VEGF表达与平均微血管计数的相关性。对已知预后因素和VEGF表达进行生存分析。生存分布通过Kaplan和Meier乘积限法计算，分布间的显著差异采用对数秩检验分析。从肿瘤VEGF表达的RT-PCR分析中，发现12个样本呈强阳性，而6个样本VEGF表达低/阴性。VEGF低/阴性组的中位生存期为60个月，VEGF阳性组为28个月（P = 0.058）。其他预后变量对生存的影响极小，即年龄<65岁（P = 0.873）、国际妇产科联盟（FIGO）分期（P = 0.06）、分级（P = 0.236）和肿瘤细胞减灭术状态（P = 0.842）。18个肿瘤标本中有14个适合进行微血管计数。VEGF阳性组和VEGF阴性组的平均微血管计数分别为27/高倍视野（hpf）和35/hpf（P = 0.16）。在这项初步分析中，上皮性卵巢癌中高VEGF表达与总体生存较差相关。有必要进一步研究以阐明VEGF表达与肿瘤微血管计数缺乏相关性的原因。
