Angiogenesis in Hodgkin's lymphoma: a morphometric approach in 286 patients with prognostic implications

Abstract

The significance of angiogenesis in Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) is not well defined. The aim of this study was to evaluate various morphometric characteristics of microvessels in lymph node sections of 286 patients with HL at diagnosis and investigate their relationship with clinicopathologic parameters and prognosis. Microvessel density (MVD), total vascular area (TVA) and several size-and shape-related microvascular parameters were quantitated -after anti-CD34 immunohistochemical staining -in the region of most intense vascularization, using image analysis. An increase in microvessel caliber parameters (area, perimeter, major and minor axis length) and a decrease in MVD were noted with increasing stage. An inverse relationship was recorded between MVD and the number of involved sites (NIS) and LDH. In univariate analysis, overall disease-specific survival was adversely affected by MVD and TVA, whereas inferior failure-free survival (FFS) was associated with the presence of more flattened vessel sections. Multivariate analysis disclosed that the extent of angiogenesis (MVD/ TVA), age and the NIS independently affected overall survival. Accordingly, FFS was independently linked to the shape of microvessels and albumin levels or the NIS. In conclusion, our data support the view that angiogenesis in HL provides independent prognostic information, requiring the concomitant evaluation of quantitative and qualitative aspects of microvascular network.

Angiogenesis and mast cells in Hodgkin lymphoma

“…When tested in a multivariate analysis against age and low s-albumin, the most powerful prognostic factors, the microvessel count was not statistically significantly related to PFS (P ¼ 0.10), probably due to the very strong influence of age on prognosis. The observed correlations between high number of microvessels and high age on the one hand (Table 1) and worse PFS, on the other hand ( Figure 2) are in line with the recent study by Korkolopoulou et al 1 However, in that study a morphometric approach was used where they investigated different features of the microvessels. 1 It might be speculated that the higher number of microvessels in elderly patients points towards a biological difference between HL in younger and older patients.…”

“…It has recently been reported that angiogenesis correlates to poor prognosis in HL. 1 We have previously reported that HL patients with many mast cells in their tumour tissue have a worse prognosis. 2 Mast cells produce functionally active CD30 ligand (CD30L) and the poorer prognosis has been proposed to be caused by a stimulation of HRS by CD30L.…”

SOX11 promotes tumor angiogenesis through transcriptional regulation of PDGFA in mantle cell lymphoma

“…26,27 In this study, we have shown that the more aggressive SOX11-positive MCL xenografts were enriched in angiogenic gene signatures and displayed much larger microvascular density areas than their SOX11-negative counterparts, concurring with other observations that an increased MVD correlates with disease progression in lymphoid neoplasms. 28,29 We therefore postulated that SOX11-positive MCL cells could promote a pronounced vasculature development and obtain an increased and deregulated blood supply that may contribute to their aggressive progression.…”

Serum concentration and immunostaining of vascular endothelial growth factor in dogs with multicentric lymphoma

“…Researchers have found a correlation between VEGF expression and prognostic factors for nonHodgkin's human lymphomas, concluding that VEGF immunostaining may be an effective method to evaluate the biological behavior of lymphomas (HAZAR et al, 2003;KORKOLOPOULOU et al, 2005). …”