Expression analysis of lymphangiogenic factors in human colorectal cancer with quantitative RT-PCR

Lymphatic spread of colorectal cancer cells to regional lymph nodes is one of the early events in metastatic cancers and often is associated with distant metastatic spread and a poor prognosis. The expression levels of newly described lymphatic endothelial markers, LYVE-1 and podoplanin, were assessed in our study. Paired (tumor and corresponding normal tissue) samples were obtained. The expression level of each factor was determined by using RT-PCR and quantified by using a real-time quantitative PCR (RT-QPCR) technique. The expression of podoplanin was significantly greater in patients with lymph node metastasis than in those without metastasis, but no different expression level of LYVE-1 was detected in 2 groups of patients. These results indicate that quantitative analysis of lymphangiogenic marker podoplanin in colorectal cancer specimens may be useful in predicting metastasis of colorectal cancer to regional lymph nodes, but the role of LYVE-1 in predicting metastasis of colorectal cancer still needs further analysis.