VEGF and Its Receptors (flt-1 and KDR/flk-1) as Prognostic Indicators in Endometrial Carcinoma

Abstract

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is associated with increased angiogenesis and aggressive tumour growth. We investigated the expression and clinical significance of VEGF and its receptors, flt-1 and KDR/flk-1, in patients with uterine endometrial carcinoma. The series consisted of 115 endometrioid endometrial adenocarcinoma patients with FIGO stage I–IV. Additionally, samples from 3 patients with adenoacanthoma and 12 patients with poor prognostic variants of endometrial carcinoma were examined. Immunohistochemical assessment was classified as negative or positive based on staining intensity. The median follow-up time of patients with endometrioid endometrial adenocarcinoma was 87 months. In endometrioid endometrial carcinomas, the positive immunostaining rate was 39% for VEGF, 65% for flt-1 and 68% for KDR/flk-1. There was a significant correlation between VEGF and both its receptors. Furthermore, this receptor expression was correlated between the two types of receptors. VEGF-, flt-1- and KDR/flk-1-positive immunostainings were not related to poor prognosis. We conclude that VEGF, flt-1 and KDR/flk-1 expressions are not useful prognostic markers for overall survival in patients with endometrioid endometrial carcinoma.

A phase II trial of thalidomide in patients with refractory endometrial cancer and correlation with angiogenesis biomarkers: A Gynecologic Oncology Group study

“…VEGF status was also an independent predictor of 5-and 10-year survival. In other studies, however, VEGF expression did not correlate with the incidence of metastases, recurrence, and survival [27][28][29]. The reason for the discrepancies between studies may lie in the varying expression pattern of VEGF in early versus late stage endometrial cancer.…”

Regulation of Angiogenesis in Human Cancer via Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-2 (VEGFR-2)

“…In other report, positive immunostaining rate was 39% for VEGF, 65% for VEGFR-1 and 68% for VEGFR-2 in endometrial carcinomas (Talvensaari-Mattila et al 2005). These results showed a significant correlation between VEGF and its receptors, but positive immunostaining was not related to poor prognosis (Talvensaari-Mattila et al 2005). Using a novel monoclonal antibody recognizing the activated (phosphorylated) form of VEGFR-2, Giatromanolaki et al assessed strong and consistent cytoplasmic and nuclear pVEGFR-2 www.intechopen.com staining in the normally cycling endometrium, including epithelial, stromal and endothelial cells, suggesting a role of pVEGFR-2 in the normal menstrual cycle.…”

“…Moreover, increasing expression of VEGFR-2 and VEGF were identified in cervical carcinoma indicating a correlation between their expression and carcinoma staging (Jach et al 2010). In other report, positive immunostaining rate was 39% for VEGF, 65% for VEGFR-1 and 68% for VEGFR-2 in endometrial carcinomas (Talvensaari-Mattila et al 2005). These results showed a significant correlation between VEGF and its receptors, but positive immunostaining was not related to poor prognosis (Talvensaari-Mattila et al 2005).…”

Contribution of VEGF and PEDF to choroidal angiogenesis: A need for balanced expressions

“…VEGF mRNA is expressed in the tissue cells of many human tumors, including carcinoma of the lung, breast, liver, gastrointestinal tract, kidney, bladder, ovary, and endometrium [2,[33][34][35][36][37]. Its overexpression is also associated with several intracranial tumors including glioblastoma, multiforme, and sporadic, von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) syndrome-associated capillary hemangioblastoma [38].…”