Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Clinical Oncology
  • Published:

In oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma vascular endothelial growth factor is associated with p53 mutation, advanced stage and poor prognosis

Abstract

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) affects malignant tumours by promoting angiogenesis. The tumour-suppressor gene p53 has been thought to regulate VEGF. We investigated the effect of VEGF on oesophageal carcinoma and the connection between VEGF and p53. One hundred and nine resected oesophageal squamous cell carcinomas were examined. VEGF expression was analysed by immunohistochemical staining. Sixty-five tumours (59.6%, 65 out of 109) were classified as VEGF positive. A significant correlation was found between the VEGF expression and both the depth of invasion (P = 0.0001) and lymph node metastasis (P < 0.0001). With regard to p53, we compared the expression of VEGF with the mutation of p53, examined using polymerase chain reaction-single-strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) and direct sequencing in tumour samples obtained from 36 patients who we have reported previously. The VEGF expression was significantly correlated to p53 mutation (P = 0.0291). To evaluate the angiogenesis, microvascular density (MVD) was counted, and endothelial cells were stained immunohistochemically using anti-CD34 monoclonal antibody against 29 cases with invasion limited to the submucosal layer. The average MVD had a tendency to correlate to VEGF expression (P = 0.1626). The prognoses of patients with VEGF-positive primary tumours were significantly worse than for those with VEGF-negative primary tumours (P = 0.0077). We have assumed that VEGF contributes to aggressive characteristics in oesophageal carcinomas and that VEGF expression might be affected by p53 status.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Uchida, S., Shimada, Y., Watanabe, G. et al. In oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma vascular endothelial growth factor is associated with p53 mutation, advanced stage and poor prognosis. Br J Cancer 77, 1704–1709 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/bjc.1998.281

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/bjc.1998.281

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links