Chinese Journal of Lung Cancer (Dec 2010)
Expressions and Their Significances of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor-C mRNA and Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor mRNA in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Tissues and Lymph Node Tissues
Abstract
Background and objective It has been proven that some molecular markers play important roles in diagnosis, clinical prediction and prognosis monitoring for lung cancer. The aim of this study is to investigate the expressions and their significances of vascular endothelial growth factor-C (VEGF-C) mRNA and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mRNA in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tissues and lymph node tissues. Methods The expressions of VEGF-C mRNA and EGFR mRNA were detected in tumor tissues and lymph node tissues by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR. The relationship and correlation between the expressions of VEGF-C mRNA, EGFR mRNA and clinicopathologic characteristics were analyzed. Results The expressions of VEGF-C mRNA and EGFR mRNA in tumor tissues and lymph node tissues were significantly higher than those in control group (P < 0.05). The expressions of VEGF-C mRNA and EGFR mRNA were much higher in patients with lymph node metastasis than those without lymph node metastasis (P < 0.05). The expressions of VEGF-C mRNA and EGFR mRNA in tumor tissues and lymph node tissues were significantly correlated (r=0.834, P < 0.001; r=0.817, P < 0.001). Conclusion The overexpressions of VEGF-C and EGFR genes are closely related to lymph node metastasis. VEGF-C mRNA and EGFR mRNA are valuable biomarkers for early diagnosis, clinical prediction and prognosis for lung cancer.
