Background. Angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis are essential for tumour development and progression. However, in colorectal cancer (CRC), the relationship between angiogenesis and clinic outcome is controversial, and the prognostic significance of lymphangiogenesis is not well examined because of the lack of specific marker for lymphatic vessels. Aims.To evaluate blood microvessel density (MVD) following the proposed standard method for MVD assessment given by the first international consensus and lymph vessel density (LVD), and investigate their clinicopathologic and biologic significance in CRC.Methods. MVD and LVD in primary tumours (n = 210), along with their corresponding adjacent normal mucosa (n = 105) and distant normal mucosa (n = 27) specimens, were immunohistochemically examined by using CD31 and D2-40 antibodies.Results. Both MVD and LVD were higher in tumour compared with the corresponding normal mucosa. In tumours, MVD was positively related to particular interesting new cysteine-histidine-rich protein (PINCH) expression (P = 0.006), but not with clinicopathologic variables. LVD, in both intratumoural and peritumoural areas of tumours, was reversely related to Dukes' stage. There was no association between MVD or LVD and patients' survival (P > 0.05). Conclusions. Angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis occurred in CRC development, butwere not related to CRC patient prognosis. PINCH may play a potential role in tumour angiogenesis.

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The association between inflammatory infiltration, fibrosis, necrosis and mucinous content in rectal cancers, and their relationship to preoperative radiotherapy (RT) clinicopathological and biological factors (p53, apoptosis and Cox-2) is not fully characterised. We analysed these histopathological parameters and their relationships in rectal cancer patients who participated in a clinical trial of preoperative RT. One hundred and forty-eight preoperative biopsies and 153 surgically resected tumours were examined. Of the surgical specimens, 81 had surgery alone and 72 received RT before surgery. A higher grade of inflammatory infiltration was related to favourable survival in the whole group of patients (p=0.004, for multivariate analysis p=0.01) as well as in the subgroups of patients with (p=0.04) or without RT (p=0.01). After RT, tumours showed a decreased infiltration (p=0.0003) and increased necrosis (p=0.006), strong necrosis was related to favourable survival (p=0.046). Necrosis (p=0.054) and fibrosis (p=0.06) tended to be increased in p53-negative tumours after RT. Inflammatory infiltration was a strong prognostic factor in rectal cancer patients, regardless of RT. RT tended to induce necrosis and fibrosis in p53-negative tumours.

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. Purpose:  To evaluate the role of particularly interesting new cysteine‐histidine‐rich protein (PINCH) in corneal wound healing and early neovascularization and to assess the influence of granulocytes. Methods:  A standardized corneal alkali wound was inflicted under general anaesthesia to the right eye of 14 New Zealand White rabbits. Seven of the rabbits received i.v. 5 mg/kg fucoidin every 2 hours to prevent granulocytes from entering the wound area. After 36 hours, the rabbits were killed, the corneas excised, fixed in 4% formaldehyde and embedded in paraffin. The sections were double‐stained with antibodies against PINCH and with haematoxylin. Results:  In the normal cornea and limbus, PINCH was weakly expressed in the corneal epithelium and in a wedge of the conjunctival stroma. In the wounded corneas, PINCH expression was seen in the frontline of repopulating endothelial and epithelial cells, and in active keratocytes. The vascular endothelium and the granulocytes expressed PINCH, as did the conjunctival epithelium. In the fucoidin‐treated rabbits, PINCH expression was markedly reduced. The vascular endothelial cells and the few granulocytes did not express PINCH in these rabbits. Conclusions:  PINCH is only slightly expressed in the normal cornea. A corneal wound induces PINCH expression in the repopulating cells, in the vascular endothelial cells of the limbus, in the limbal epithelium and in the granulocytes. Exclusion of granulocytes reduces expression of PINCH and there is no expression at all in the vascular endothelium.