Immunohistochemical study on tumor angiogenic factors in non-small cell lung cancer

Background. In order to elucidate the roles of tumor angiogenesis in lung carcinogenesis, the expression of several angiogenic factors in lung carcinoma tissues were examined. Materials and Methods. Tissue specimens from 112 cases of resected non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) were studied. The expressions of platelet-derived endothelial cell growth factor (PD-ECGF) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) were examined immunohistochemically. Microvessel density (MVD) was also evaluated. Results. VEGF-positive cases were observed more frequently in advanced stage lung cancers than in early cancers, and VEGF-positive tumors had higher MVD than VEGF-negative tumors, while such differences were not observed for PD-ECGF. In squamous cell carcinoma, the patients with high-MVD tumor had significantly worse survival than those with low-MVD tumor. Conclusions. Our results suggest that VEGF plays an important role in angiogenesis of lung cancers, while the contribution of PD-ECGF may be limited.