Clinicopathological Study of predictors of delayed cervical lymph node metastases in tongue carcinoma.

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Immunohistochemical study associated with delayed cervical lymph node metastases of squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue were investigated. Delayed cervical lymph node metastases were found in 8 (33.3%) of 34 patients with tongue carcinoma of stage I and II from October 1983 to June 1997. We examined the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), Flt-4, E-cadherin and Ki-67 and their relationship to delayed cervical lymph node metastases. The intensity of VEGF expression tended to correlate with delayed cervical lymph node metastases, but not significant (p=0.0845). The expression of E-cadherin and Ki-67 positive rate did not correlate with delayed cervical lymph node metastases (E-cadherin : p=0.8091, Ki-67 : p=0.8218). The vessel density in Flt-4-positive carcinomas was higher than that in Flt-4-negative carcinomas (p=0.0083). These findings suggest that the expression of VEGF and Flt-4 are probably predictors of delayed cervical lymph node metastases in tongue carcinoma.