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Updated: May 11, 2026
Fabrication of Tongue Extracellular Matrix and Reconstitution of Tongue Squamous Cell Carcinoma In Vitro
Published on: June 20, 2018
[Vasculogenic mimicry in tongue squamous cell carcinoma]
Xiaogen Zhang1, Chundong Liu, Luqiao Luo
1Department of Stomatology, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510282, China. ken85222@hotmail.com
Objective:
To investigate the presence of vasculogenic mimicry (VM) in tongue squamous cell carcinoma and explore its clinical significance.
Methods:
Forty-two surgical specimens of tongue squamous cell carcinoma were examined for the presence of VM using HE staining and double staining of CD34 and PAS.
Results:
Of the 42 specimens, 18 (42.86%) showed the presence of VM. VM was not correlated with the patients' age or gender, but with lymph node metastasis and the grade of tumor differentiation. Compared with tumors without VM, the tumors with VM had a significantly higher rate of lymph node metastasis (P<0.05) and a lower grade of differentiation (P<0.05).
Conclusion:
VM can be present in tongue squamous cell carcinoma, and the poorly differentiated tumors contain more VM, which is associated with a greater likeliness of lymph node metastasis and a poorer prognosis.
