Immunohistochemical expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in prostate adenocarcinoma

Abstract

Introduction: Clinical and morphological prognostic factors for PCa are Gleason score, TNM classification and lymph node invasion. VEGF is an inducer of angiogenesis, which plays an important role in tumor growth and metastasis. It was shown that PCa cells express VEGF. Aim: The aim of this paper is to analyze the immunohistochemical expression of VEGF in prostate adenocarcinoma and correlate it with the clinical and morphological prognostic factors in the sample of patients treated at the Clinical Hospital Center "Dr Dragiša Mišović" in Belgrade. Material and methods: The operative material from 20 cases of prostate adenocarcinoma was used. TNM classification from 2002 was used to determine the stage of the tumor, and Gleason score from 2009 was applied to determine the grade. Immunohistochemical staining of prostate adenocarcinoma was semiquantitatively evaluated. Results: Expression of VEGF was present in all analyzed adenocarcinoma of the prostate. In fifteen cases (75%) of the analyzed twenty cases, immunostaning was diffuse, while in five cases it was moderate (25%). A statistically significant correlation was noted between diffuse expression of VEGF and higher Gleason score (p < 0.01). Frequency of diffuse expression of VEGF was higher in cases with the presence of lymphatic node metastasis and TNM stage III and IV, but the results were not statistically significant. Conclusion: Diffuse expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is more often observed in prostate cancer (PCa) with higher Gleason score, higher TNM stage and lymph node invasion, in the sample of patients treated at the Clinical Hospital Center "Dr Dragiša Mišović" in Belgrade, all consistent with previous studies.