[Expression and clinical significance of vascular endothelial growth factor in nasopharyngeal carcinoma]

To evaluate the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and its clinical significance.

The expression of VEGF in the 47 NPC and 10 chronic nasopharngotis tissues was examined by an immunohistochemical S-P method.

1. The positive rate of VEGF was 68.0% (32/47) in NPC tissues, but VEGF protein was not detected in chronic nasopharngotis tissues. 2. The VEGF positive rate of NPC with lymph node metastasis was significantly higher than that of NPC without lymph node metastasis (82.6% vs. 54.2%, P < 0.05). 2. The VEGF positive rate of recurrent NPC was significantly higher than that without recurrent NPC (85.0% vs. 55.5%, P < 0.05). 4. The VEGF positive rate of the less than 5-year survival after a radiotherapy in the NPC patients was significantly higher than that of the more than 5-year ones in the chronic nasopharyngotis patients (84.2% vs. 64.3%, P < 0.05). 5. The VEGF positive rate of NPC tissues with the Stage III-IV was significantly higher than that with the Stage I-II (80.0% vs. 49.0%, P < 0.05).

The overexpression of VEGF may play a role in the pathogenesis of NPC and the detection of VEGF protein in the NPC tissues may be useful for calculating the lymph node metastasis and recurrence, judging the clinical stages, and evaluating the prognose of NPC.