Immunoscanning electron microscopic study on the localization of lymphangiogenic factor VEGF-C in oral

淋巴管密度（LVD）和微血管密度（MVD）是评估口腔鳞状细胞癌（OSCC）恶性潜能和患者生存的重要指标。本研究旨在阐明在OSCC中LVD和MVD的临床和预后意义，以及VEGF-C在癌组织中的淋巴生成和血管生成活性。采用免疫组织化学方法对110例OSCC组织进行LVD、MVD及VEGF-C表达的检测。研究了这些参数与临床病理因素的相关性。在VEGF-C高表达的肿瘤中，LVD明显高于VEGF-C不表达的肿瘤。LVD与淋巴结转移密切相关。MVD与淋巴结转移阳性相关，但与VEGF-C表达无关。相反，VEGF-C的高表达与晚期肿瘤状态显著相关。LVD高、MVD高、VEGF-C表达强的患者生存率较低。淋巴管生成主要影响无转移生存。我们的结果表明，在决定OSCC的治疗策略方面，LVD比MVD和VEGF-C更有用。

Lymphatic vessel density (LVD) and microvessel density (MVD) are important parameters for assessing tine malignant potential of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and patient survival. This study aims to clarify the clinical and prognostical significances of LVD and MVD in OSCC, and the lymphagiogenic and angiogenic activities of VEGF-C in cancer tissues. A total of 110 OSCC tissues were evaluated for LVD, MVD and expression of VEGF-C using immunohistochemistry. Correlations among these parameters and clinicpopathologic factors were examined. LVD was significantly higher in tumors with a very high expression of VEGF-C than in those with no/week expression of VEGF-C. LVD correlated well with lymph node metastasis. MVD significantly correlated with positive lymph node metastasis, but did not with VEGF-C expression. In contrast, high expression of VEGF-C significantly correlated with advanced tumor status. Survival rate was lower in patients with a higher LVD, higher MVD and strong VEGF-C expression. Lymphangiogenesis most predominantly influences metastasis-free survival. Our results suggested that LVD is a more useful tool than MVD and VEGF-C for deciding on therapeutic strategies for OSCC.