Study On The Relationship Between Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor C And Recurrence Following Curative Resection Of Pancreatic Cancer

Objective:To investigate the prognostic value of vascular endothelial growth factor C (VEGF-C) and some clinicopathologic indexes in predicting recurrence following curative resection of pancreatic cancer.Methods:The expressions of VEGF-C of 47 patients who underwent curative resection for pancreatic cancer curative resection were detected by Envision immunohistochemical methods.The effects of VEGF-C and clinicopathologic indexes on recurrence were assessed by Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazards model.Results:The positive rates of VEGF-C were 61.7%(29/47) and 14.9%(7/47), respectively in pancreatic cancer and normal pancreatic tissues.The positive expression of VEGF-C in pancreatic carcinoma was obviously higher than that in the normal pancreatic tissues(P = 0.018).Median disease-free survival time was 11.9 months,and cumulative 1-year and 2-year actuarial disease-free survival rates were 46.8%,24.3%.There was significant correlation between VEGF-C expression and lymph node metastasis in pancreatic cancer(P = 0.036).In Kaplan-Meier analysis, VEGF-C(P = 0.007),tumor diameter(P = 0.031),age(P= 0.048)and adjuvant chemotherapy(P = 0.024) were associated with disease-free survival time. Multivariate analysis showed that VEGF-C(P = 0.006),tumor diameter(P = 0.046)and adjuvant chemotherapy(P= 0.012) were independent prognostic factors of disease-free survival after surgery for pancreatic cancer.Conclusion:The abnormal expression of VEGF-C,tumor diameter(≥3cm) and adjuvant chemotherapy are the variables that independently predict disease-free survival after surgery for pancreatic cancer.