非小细胞肺癌组织COX-2和VEGF-C表达与淋巴转移的关系

目的:检测非小细胞肺癌组织中环氧化酶-2(COX-2)和血管内皮生长因子C(VEGF-C)的表达及其相关性,以探讨其在淋巴转移中的作用和可能机制。方法:采用免疫组化方法检测COX-2和VEGF-C在66例非小细胞肺癌及22例正常肺组织中的表达。结果:66例非小细胞肺癌组织中COX-2和VEGF-C的阳性表达率分别为47.0%和39.4%,而正常肺组织中无表达。COX-2和VEGF-C的表达与TNM分期和淋巴结转移有关(P<0.05),而与患者年龄、肿瘤大小、组织学类型及分化程度无关。COX-2和VEGF-C的表达之间存在明显关联性(P<0.05)。结论:非小细胞肺癌组织中COX-2和VEGF-C的表达均增高并且呈正相关,两者在肺癌淋巴结转移中起协同作用,共同促进肺癌的淋巴转移。

The Correlation of COX-2 and VEGF-C Expression with Lymphatic Metastasis in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

Objective To explore the correlation between the expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and vascular endothelial growth factor-C(VEGF-C) in non-small cell lung cancer and their implication in tumor lymphatic metastasis.Methods The expression of COX-2 and VEGF-C was examined by immunohistochemical method in 66 cases with non-small cell lung cancer and 22 cases with normal lung. Results The positive rates of COX-2 and VEGF-C in non-small cell lung cancer were 47.0% and 39.4%,respectively.There was no expressions of COX-2 or VEGF-C in normal lung.The expression of COX-2 and VEGF-C was significantly associated with the stage of TNM and lymph node metastasis(P<0.05),but not with the patient age,tumor size,histological type and differentiation.The expression of COX-2 was closely correlated with that of VEGF-C (χ2=8.092,P<0.05). Conclusion COX-2 overexpression is significantly associated with elevated VEGF-C.The co-expression of COX-2 and VEGF-C may play an important role in lymphatic spread of non-small cell lung cancer.