Correlation between VEGF expression and angiogenesis in breast carcinoma.

Objective: To analyze the role of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) secreted by tumor cells in angiogenesis of breast carcinoma using image morphometry.

Study Design: Thirty-four cases of node-negative breast carcinoma were used in the study. There were 6 grade 1, 20 grade 2 and 8 grade 3 tumors. For each case, 2 consecutive sections from the same block were cut. Immunostaining for VEGF and CD31 was carried out, and areas of highest staining density were marked. Those marked "hot spots" for CD31 and VEGF for each case were subsequently compared morphometrically. The area and intensity of immunostaining on each slide were also scored.

Results: The total scores for VEGF and CD31 were 5.15 and 3.79, respectively. All 34 cases showed cytoplasmic positivity for VEGF within the tumor cells. The average number of hot spots for VEGF and CD31 were 2.41 and 2.47, respectively, and the average number of hot spots that matched between these 2 groups were 0.79. Statistical analysis using Pearson's coefficient of correlation showed no significant match between the hot spots for CD31 and VEGF. Also, there was no significant difference between the total scores of CD31 and VEGF.

Conclusion: VEGF is expressed in most breast carcinomas. However, the lack of topographic correlation between microvessel density and VEGF expression supports the notion that multiple angiogenic factors may play a role along with VEGF in the angiogenic process.