CD147 and VEGF expression in advanced renal cell carcinoma and their prognostic value

To investigate the clinicopathologic characteristics of extracellular matrix (ECM) metalloproteinase inducer (CD147) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression in advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC), and to evaluate the clinical significance of these two markers in the prognosis of advanced RCC.

CD147 and VEGF expression in paraffin-embedded specimens gathered from 53 patients with advanced RCC and 12 healthy controls were detected by the method of immunohistochemistry. The Spearman correlation was calculated between the expression levels of CD147 and VEGF in advanced RCC tissues. The association of CD147 and VEGF expression with the clinicopathologic features and prognosis of advanced RCC was subsequently assessed.

CD147 and VEGF were positively expressed in 47/53 (88.7%) and 45/53 (84.9%) of patients with advanced RCC, respectively. Positive expression of CD147 (p= 0.02) and VEGF (p< 0.01) was significantly correlated with TNM stage of advanced RCC. A significant correlation was found between the expression of CD147 and VEGF in advanced RCC (r= 0.629, p= 0.04). Additionally, tumor CD147 and tumor VEGF expressions were significantly associated with the prognosis of advanced RCC patients. The survival rate of the patients with CD147-/VEGF- expression was the lowest (p< 0.01), and conjoined expressions of CD147-/VEGF- and CD147+/VEGF+ were independent prognostic indicators of advanced RCC (both p< 0.01).

The expression of CD147 or VEGF may be an important feature of advanced RCC. A combined detection of CD147/VEGF coexpression may benefit us in the prediction of the prognosis of advanced RCC.