Prognostic value of vascular endothelial growth factor-C and podoplanin mRNA expression in esophageal cancer

Juchniewicz,Agnieszka; Niklińska,Wiesława; Kowalczuk,Oksana; Laudański,Wojciech; Sulewska,Anetta; Dziegielewski,Piotr; Milewski,Robert; Naumnik,Wojciech; Kozłowski,Mirosław; Nikliński,Jacek

doi:10.3892/ol.2015.3824

Prognostic value of vascular endothelial growth factor-C and podoplanin mRNA expression in esophageal cancer

Authors:
- Agnieszka Juchniewicz
- Wiesława Niklińska
- Oksana Kowalczuk
- Wojciech Laudański
- Anetta Sulewska
- Piotr Dziegielewski
- Robert Milewski
- Wojciech Naumnik
- Mirosław Kozłowski
- Jacek Nikliński
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Affiliations: Department of Clinical Molecular Biology, Medical University of Bialystok, 15‑267 Białystok, Poland, Department of Histology and Embryology, Medical University of Bialystok, 15‑267 Białystok, Poland, Department of Thoracic Surgery, Medical University of Bialystok, 15‑267 Białystok, Poland, Department of Statistics and Medical Informatics, Medical University of Bialystok, 15‑295 Białystok, Poland, Department of Lung Diseases and Tuberculosis, Medical University of Bialystok, 15‑540 Białystok, Poland
Published online on: October 22, 2015 https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2015.3824
Pages: 3668-3674

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Abstract

Vascular endothelial growth factor-C (VEGF-C), VEGF-D, VEGF receptor-3 (VEGFR-3) and podoplanin (PDPN) are involved in the spread of cancer. The current study evaluated VEGF‑C, VEGF‑D, VEGFR‑3 and PDPN mRNA expression levels in 84 esophageal cancer samples from patients who had undergone surgery according to reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and correlated the results with the clinicopathological features. The effects on lymph node metastasis and survival were identified by performing univariate and multivariate analyses. VEGF‑C, PDPN, VEGF‑D and VEGFR‑3 were overexpressed in 52.4, 52.4, 32.1 and 51.2% of esophageal cancer samples, respectively. Furthermore, the expression of VEGF‑C and PDPN was significantly correlated with lymph node metastasis, depth of tumor invasion and tumor stage (P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis identified tumor size (P=0.001), depth of invasion (P=0.002) and PDPN mRNA expression (P=0.022) as significant multivariable predictors of regional lymph node metastasis. Upon univariate survival analysis, the depth of tumor invasion, lymph node metastasis, histological grade, tumor stage, tumor size, residual tumor, and VEGF‑C and PDPN mRNA expression were identified to be significant independent prognostic factors for overall survival (OS) time. Additionally, multivariate analysis identified tumor size (P=0.049), residual tumor (P<0.001) and PDPN mRNA expression (P=0.02) as independent factors for poor OS time. Thus, it was concluded that PDPN mRNA expression may serve as predictor for regional lymph node metastasis, and that VEGF‑C and PDPN may be prognostic factors in patients with resected esophageal cancer.

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