[The correlation between tumor angiogenesis and lymph node metastasis in primary breast carcinoma]

To study the relationship between tumor angiogenesis and lymph node metastasis in primary breast carcinoma. Agiogenesis was assessed by the microvessel density (MVD) and expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) using immunohistochemical staining. Paraffin-embedded specimens from 70 patients with primary breast cancer who had undergone radical mastectomy from 1984 to 1985 were studied. Thirty-one patients had histologically proven positive axillary lymph node (N+). The axillary node negative (N-) group was composed of thirty-nine patients. Microvessels per 200x (as MVD) and VEGF positively stained cancer cells per 400x were counted with light microscope. MVD and VEGF expression were higher in tumors with N+ showed than those with N-, MVD and VEGF expression were higher in N+ than in N-. MVD and the expression of VEGF are highly correlated with metastasis in primary breast cancer, which may serve as a parameter for determining tumor biological, metastatic potential and prognosis.