Abstract
AIM: To investigate the correlation between the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) protein and clinicopathological characteristics of gastric cancer.
METHODS: The surgical specimens from 775 patients with gastric cancer who were treated at Fuzhou General Hospital of Nanjing Military Command of Chinese PLA were used in this study. VEGF protein expression in these specimens was examined by immunohistochemistry.
RESULTS: The rate of VEGF protein overexpression was 25.42% (197/775). VEGF protein overexpression was associated with depth of invasion, lymph node metastasis and distant metastasis (all P < 0.05), but not with sex, age, tumor site, TNM stage, histopathologic type and differentiation (all P > 0.05). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that depth of invasion, lymph node metastasis and distant metastasis were significant predictors of VEGF protein overexpression in gastric cancer (all P < 0.05).
CONCLUSION: Detection of VEGF protein expression may be used to assess the malignant biological behavior and prognosis of gastric cancer.
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