The intratumoral microvessel density and expression of bFGF and nm23-H1 in colorectal cancer

It has previously been reported that intratumoral microvessel density (IMD), and the expression of bFGF and nm23-H1 are useful prognostic markers in colorectal cancer (CRC). In this study, a total of 100 CRCs were evaluated histopathologically, and IMD, bFGF and nm23-H1 expression were assessed by immunohistochemistry. IMD of patients increased with grade and stage, and this increase was statistically significant ( p< 0.05). A significantly higher incidence of high bFGF expression scores was also associated with increasing grade and stage ( p< 0.05). However, there was no significant difference between the grades in nm23-H1 expression ( p= 0.234). nm23-H1 expression occurred with lower incidence in stages C1, C2 and D than in stages B1 and B2 ( p< 0.05). Thus, a negative correlation was found between nm23-H1 expression and stage or lymph node metastasis (LNM) ( p< 0.05). IMD and bFGF expression were positively correlated with grade, stage, LNM, and lymphovascular invasion. Although positive correlation was found between IMD and bFGF, nm23-H1 expression negatively correlated with both of them. As a result, in clinical practice, increased IMD and bFGF expression and decreased nm23-H1 expression may provide valuable information in characterizing the malignant phenotype.