Objective: To clarify the clinicopathological significance of lymphatic vessel density (LVD) and distribution in pancreatic cancer.
Methods: We measured LVD in 43 pancreatic cancer specimens by immunostaining with specific lymphatic endothelium marker, and examined their relationship with well-defined clinicopathological variables.
Results: Intratumoral LVD (9.4 +/- 10.0) was significantly lower than periturmoral (16.0 +/- 9.7) (P < 0.001) and nontumoral LVD (13.5 +/- 6.0) (P < 0.01). Increased peritumoral LVD correlated significantly with tumor staging (P < 0.05) and lymph node involvement (P < 0.05).
Conclusion: The lymphatic vessels distribution in pancreatic cancer samples and peritumoral lymphangiogenesis may promote the malignant progression and lymph node metastasis of pancreatic cancer.