HIGH TUMOR ANGIOGENESIS IS ASSOCIATED WITH POORER SURVIVAL IN CARCINOMA OF THE CERVIX TREATED WITH RADIOTHERAPY

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between tumo r angiogenesis and prognosis in carcinoma of the cervix treated with r adiotherapy with a median follow-up time of 55 months. A retrospective study was carried out on 111 patients. Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embed ded tumor biopsies were stained with anti-factor VIII using immunohist ochemistry. Tumor angiogenesis was assessed by scoring the distance to the closest microvessel from random points within the tumor and the i ntratumor microvessel density (IMD) in the areas of highest neovascula rization, High vascularity, as measured by both methods, was associate d with a poor prognosis but was only significant for IMD. The ii-year survival rates for tumors with high versus low values were 50 and 65%, respectively. ND was a significant prognostic factor within a Cox mul tivariate analysis, Higher tumor vascularity was associated with lower overall survival and locoregional control, but this association was n ot significant in the case of metastasis-free survival, The method use d to assess tumor vascularity is important, The level of angiogenesis in carcinoma of the cervix is an independent prognostic parameter.