Prevalence of the Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor (VEGER) in Transitional Cell Carcinoma (TCC) of Bladder and its Relationship with Other Prognostic Factors

Abstract

Background: Tumor growth, invasion, and metastasis are angiogenesis dependent; so, using anti-angiogenic therapies can block these procedures. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a strong proangiogenic factor that is expressed by many cancer cells like bladder cancer. Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of the VEGFR in transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) of bladder and its relationship with other prognostic factors. Methods: This cross sectional study was carried out on 61 patients with TCC of bladder after radical cystectomy (RC). These patients were referred to the Urology Ward in Labbafineazhad Hospital in Tehran, Iran. The relationship of VEGF and the prognostic factors was determined, using the Fisher's Exact and Chi-square for data analyzing by SPSS software version 17. Results: Among 61 patients with TCC of bladder, only 8 patients (13.1%) were VEGFR positive, and there was no significant relation between frequency of VEGFR expression and the other factors like age, gender, stage, lymph node involvement, lymphovascular, or perineural space invasion. Conclusions: According to this study, the most patients with TCC of bladder did not express VEGFR; also, none of the prognostic factors showed any relation with VEGFR expression.