The relationship between platelet-derived growth factor expression and angiogenesis/lymphangiogenesis in cervical cancer

This paper is aimed to examine if changes in platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) expression at different stages of cervical cancer are related to the variation in blood vessel density (BVD) and lymphatic vessel density (LVD) to evaluate the relationship between PDGF expression and stages and metastasis of cervical cancer. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and RT-PCR were used to detect the expression levels of PDGF in 45 cervical cancer tissue samples (the experimental group). The samples were immunohistochemically stained with monoclonal antibodies D2-40 and CD34, and BVD and LVD were measured. The expressions of PDGF-A, -B, and -D were all higher in the experimental group than in the control group (P<0.05); no significant difference was found in the expression of PDGF-C between the experimental group and the control group (P>0.05). PDGF-A and -B expression was positively related with BVD and LVD (P<0.01, R = 0.49, 0.527, 0.327, 0.68). The expression levels of PDGF-C and -D were not significantly related with BVD and LVD. At the early stage of cervical cancer, BVD and LVD were significantly higher than in the controls (P<0.01). The BVD and LVD in tissues in the surrounding areas of cervical cancer were significantly higher than in tissues at cancer center, and LVD was related to lymph node metastasis (P<0.001). BVD and LVD were not associated with the differentiation and pathological stages of cervical cancer. The expressions of PDGF-A, -B, and -D in cervical cancer were closely related with the clinical stages of cervical cancer. PDGF-A and -B were intimately associated with the lymph node metastasis and prognosis of cervical cancer. © 2009 Higher Education Press and Springer Berlin Heidelberg.