Expression of vascular endothelial growth factor-C protein and mRNA in gastric carcinoma and its relationship with lymph node micrometastases

Abstract

Objective To explore the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor-C (VEGF-C) protein and mRNA in gastric cancer and its relationship with lymph node micrometastases. Methods Immunohistochemistry and RT PCR were used to detect the expression of VEGF-C protein and mRNA in gastric carcinoma tissue, adjacent tissue and normal tissue from 80 patients who suffered from gastric carcinoma. The expression level of VEGF-C protein and mRNA were compared between tissues with positive or negative lymph node micrometastases. Results The positive expression rates of VEGF-C protein and mRNA in gastric cancer tissue were significantly higher than those in adjacent tissue and normal tissue (P<0.05) , which had no relationship with the patients' age, sex, tumor size, location and distant metastasis. The expression of VEGF-C was positively correlated with lymph node metastasis (P<0.01) , and that of VEGF-C mRNA with micrometastasis was closer than that of protein. Conclusions VEGF-C protein and mRNA in gastric cancer tissue is correlated with lymph node micrometastases, and detection of VEGF-C mRNA is prior to detection of protein. VEGF-C mRNA can be serving as a more accurate indicator of lymph node micrometastases in the gastric cancer patients. Key words: Gastric cancer; Vascular endothelial growth factor-C; mRNA; Lymph node micrometastases