Vascular endothelial growth factor-C expression in human prostatic carcinoma and its relationship to lymph node metastasis

Lymph node dissemination is a major prognostic factor in human cancer. Howe ver, the molecular mechanisms underlying lymph node metastasis are poorly u nderstood. Recently, Vascular endothelial growth factor-C (VEGF-C) was iden tified as a ligand for VEGF receptor-3 (VEGFR-3/Flt-4) and the expression o f VEGFR-3 was found to be highly restricted to the lymphatic endothelial ce lls. In this report, we investigated the expression of VEGF-C and VEGFR-3 i n human prostatic carcinoma tissue by using in situ hybridization and immun ohistochemical staining respectively. Expression of VEGF-C mRNA in prostati c carcinoma was significantly higher in lymph node-positive group than in l ymph node-negative group. In addition, the number of VEGFR-3-positive vesse ls was increased in stroma surrounding VEGF-C-positive prostatic carcinoma cells. These results suggest that the expression of VEGF-C in prostatic car cinoma cells is implicated in the lymph node metastasis.