[Expression of vascular endothelial growth factor and microvessel density in ovarian tumor].

Background & Objective: Angiogenesis is a critical step in growth, invasion, and metastasis of solid tumors, and determination of microvessel of density (MVD) could be used to evaluate angiogenesis. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is an important angiogenic factor, which involves in tumor growth. This study was designed to investigate the relationship between the expression of VEGF and MVD in borderline ovarian tumor.

Methods: SP immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization were used to investigate the expression of VEGF and VEGF mRNA in 69 samples of borderline ovarian tumor (BOT), 18 samples of benign tumor and 27 samples of ovarian carcinoma (OC). MVD was counted by endothelial cells immunostained with anti-factor VIII monoclonal antibody.

Results: The expression levels of VEGF protein and VEGF mRNA were middle in borderline ovarian tumors between in benign tumors and in carcinoma, with significant differences (P< 0.05). The expression of VEGF and VEGF mRNA were closely associated with clinic stage and MVD(P< 0.05), but were not associated with tissue type and peritoneal implants(P > 0.05).

Conclusion: VEGF is associated with the development, invasion, and metastasis of ovarian tumor. VEGF and MVD were predictors for the prognosis of borderline ovarian tumor.