TY - JOUR T1 - Comparison of Lymphangiogenesis between Primary Colorectal Cancer and Corresponding Liver Metastases JF - Anticancer Research JO - Anticancer Res SP - 4605 LP - 4611 VL - 31 IS - 12 AU - ALEXANDRA SCHOPPMANN AU - DIETMAR TAMANDL AU - BEATA HERBERGER AU - FRIEDRICH LÄNGLE AU - PETER BIRNER AU - SILVANA GELEFF AU - THOMAS GRÜNBERGER AU - SEBASTIAN F. SCHOPPMANN Y1 - 2011/12/01 UR - http://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/31/12/4605.abstract N2 - Background: Liver metastasis (LM) is the determining factor of poor prognosis in colorectal cancer (CRC). Peripheral lymphatico-venous communications have been discussed as a potential pathway of tumor cell dissemination for the development of LMs. In the current study, we investigated the clinical impact of the lymphangiogenic activity in CRCs and their corresponding LMs. Patients and Methods: In 47 patients with CRC, the primary tumors and the corresponding LMs were investigated. Lymphangiogenesis (LMVD), lymphovascular invasion (LVI), lymphatic vascular endothelial growth factor C expression (VEGF-C) were investigated Results: A significant correlation was observed between LMVD and LVI in CRCs (p=0.001) as well as in LMs (p=0.0001). LMVD in CRC correlated significantly with that in LMVD-LMs (p=0.026) and LVI in LMs (p=0.036). Survival analysis reveilled a significant difference in disease free and overall survival between patients with and without VEGF-C expression in LMs (p=0.0019 and p=0.0101, respectively). Conclusion: Our data provide evidence for an important role of lymphangiogenesis in liver metastasis of CRC and provide further support for a possible role of a lymphatico-venous metastatic pathway. ER -