VASCULAR DENSITY IS A PREDICTOR OF CANCER-SPECIFIC SURVIVAL IN PROSTATIC-CARCINOMA

BACKGROUND. Microvessel density has been shown to give prognostic info rmation in a variety of solid tumors, but its role in prostatic carcin oma needs further elucidation. METHODS. Intratumoral density of von Wi llebrand factor-positive microvessels was assessed in 98 cases of pros tatic carcinoma, diagnosed at transurethral resection of the prostate (TURF) between 1975-1983, using two methods: 1) volume density of micr ovessels and 2) vascular count in the 2-3 most vascularized fields. RE SULTS. Volume density and vascular counts were highly correlated. In K aplan-Meyer analysis, mean cancer-specific survival time for patients with a vascular count <135 was significantly longer than for patients with a vascular count >135 (P = 0.0064). The same results applied to p atients with WHO grade II tumors (P = 0.01). Excluding metastasis in a multivariate analysis, both tumor stage and vascular count had an ind ependent predictive value for cancer-specific survival in patients wit h WHO grade II tumors. CONCLUSIONS. Microvessel density may predict ca ncer-specific survival in prostatic carcinoma. (C) 1997 Wiley-Liss, In c.