Background & objective: Tumor microvessel density (MDV)partly indicates tumor angiogenesis,and it is a hot topic in the study of oncology. However, the relationship between tumor MVD and the clinicopathological characteristics of rectal cancer are unclear. This study was to explore the correlation of tumor MVD to metastasis and recurrence of rectal cancer.
Methods: Records of 97 rectal cancer patients who had undergone radical resection in the Department of Abdominal Surgery, Cancer Center,Sun Yat-sen University from 1996 to 1997 were retrospectively analyzed. The paraffin-embedded tissues of resected tumor and para-tumor tissues were collected,microvessels were detected by immunohistochemistry using mouse anti-human CD31 antibody. The MVD was then calculated microscopically, its relations with clinicopathological parameters were analyzed with software package of SPSS 9.0.
Results: The values of MVD in tumor tissues,and non-cancerous para-tumor mucosa were 45.26+/-19.52,and 11.82+/-3.48 per high magnification field (x400)(P< 0.001). The MVD in the treatment-failed patients (recurrence and/or metastasis) was 62.72+/-21.75, while it was 41.23+/-16.68 in the patients with disease-free survival, the difference was significant (P< 0.001).
Conclusions: The tumors with higher MVD are more likely to relapse or metastasize after operation. Tumor tissue MVD can be used as a biological indicator for post-operative metastasis and recurrence in rectal cancer.