Purpose and methods: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) overexpression has been associated with advanced stage and poor survival in several cancers. Additionally, endoglin was proposed as a marker of neovascularization in solid malignancies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between the VEGF and endoglin expression in colorectal carcinoma patients, as well as to correlate the VEGF and endoglin expression with standard parameters, to define their potential prognostic role. VEGF and endoglin expression were evaluated in 99 unrelated patients with colorectal cancer using immunohistochemistry.
Results: Vascular endothelial growth factor and endoglobin expression were positively interrelated. No significant correlation of VEGF and endoglin expression with clinicopathological parameters was observed in our cases. The Kaplan-Meier survival curves have demonstrated a clear association of cancer-specific overall survival with high VEGF, as well as high endoglin expression.
Conclusion: Our results support that VEGF and endoglin act as two valuable indicators of prognosis.