TUMOR ANGIOGENESIS - AN INDEPENDENT PROGNOSTIC PARAMETER IN CERVICAL-CANCER

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the in tensity of tumor angiogenesis, expressed as microvessel density, is a parameter predicting the probability of lymph node metastasis and surv ival in patients with cervical cancer stages IB and IIA. STUDY DESIGN: In a retrospective study of 114 patients with cervical cancer stages IB and IIA, microvessel density, lymph node status, and several other prognostic parameters were correlated with disease-free survival by a multivariate analysis according to Cox proportional-hazards model. RES ULTS: There was a significant difference in mean microvessel density b etween tumors with and without pelvic lymph node metastatis (p = 0.002 ). Both microvessel density (vessels per square millimeter of stroma) (p = 0.05) and pelvic lymph node metastasis (p = 0.007) correlated sig nificantly and independently with disease-free survival. CONCLUSION: T his study demonstrates that microvessel density is an independent prog nostic parameter for disease-free survival in patients with cervical c ancer stages Ib and IIa.