Expression and significance of tissue transglutaminase and VEGF in epithelial ovarian carcinoma

Abstract

Objective To investigate the expression of tissue transglutaminase(tTG) and vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF) in epithelial ovarian carcinoma and the relationship of invasion and metastance in ovarian carcinoma.Methods The expression of tTG and VEGF was detected in 55 malignant and 21 benign ovarian neoplasms by immunohistochemical SP method.The clinical significance of tTG and VEGF and their relationship were analyzed.Results The expression rates of tTG and VEGF in malignant epithelial ovarian tumors were significantly higher than in benign epithelial ovarian tumors(tTG:92.7％ vs.38.1％,x2 =32.620,P ＜0.01 ;VEGF:90.9％ vs.47.6％,x2 =19.570,P ＜0.01).In ovarian cancer,the expression of tTG in tumor cells and stromal cells was significantly related to clinical phases and the presence of ascites.The expression of VEGF in tumor cells had a significant revelance to clinical phases,pathological grades and ascites.The expression of tTG in ovarian cancer cells was positively correlated with VEGF(r =0.8856,x2 =43.14,P ＜0.01).Conclusion Tissue transglutaminase and VEGF were detected not only in tumor cells,but also instromal cells.High expression of tTG and VEGF may play an importaant role in the pathogenesis of ovarian cancer and their synergistic effect may act as an important factor in promoting the invasion and metastasis of this cancer. Key words: Ovarian neoplasms; Tissue transglutaminase; Vascular endothelial growth factor