Korean J Intern Med.  2004 Mar;19(1):10-14.

Prognostic Value of VEGF in Human Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma

• Lim YJ
• Lee JK
• Park CK
• Song SY
• Jang WY
• Ha HY
• Park DI
• Lee KT
• Paik SW
• Yoo BC
• Rhee JC

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Since pancreatic cancer metastasizes early regardless of the size of the primary tumor, it is suggested that angiogenic factor is upregulated in this disease. Among the angiogenic factors, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is the most potent and specific growth factor. The aim of this study is to elucidate the prognostic value of VEGF expression in pancreatic cancers. METHODS: We analyzed the VEGF expression using immunohistochemistry in 72 resected pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas. We examined the prognostic value of the VEGF expression along with its relationship with the clinicopathological features. RESULTS: VEGF expression and mutant p53 expression were not associated with microvessel density. VEGF expression was positively associated with mutant p53 expression. There were no statistically significant relationships between the VEGF expression and other clinicopathological features, such as age, sex, CA19-9, tumor size, location, tumor differentiation, and stage. VEGF expression was not associated with patient survival. CONCLUSION: VEGF expression was not associated with the microvessel density and patient survival in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Keyword

VEGF; Pancreatic neoplasm; Prognosis

MeSH Terms

Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Biological Markers
Carcinoma, Pancreatic Ductal/*metabolism/surgery
Female
Human
Immunohistochemistry
Male
Middle Aged
Pancreatic Neoplasms/*metabolism/surgery
Prognosis
Survival Analysis
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A/*metabolism