Lymphatic microvessel density and vascular endothelial growth factor-C and -D as prognostic factors in breast cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature

The use of lymphatic microvessel density (LVD) and pro-lymphangiogenic mediators as prognostic factors for survival in breast cancer remains controversial. We searched the electronic databases PubMed and EMBASE without language restrictions for relevant literature to aggregate the survival results. To be eligible, every study had to include the assessment of the LVD or the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-C or -D in patients with breast cancer and provide a survival comparison, including disease-free survival (DFS) or overall survival (OS), according to the LVD, VEGF-C or VEGF-D status. Across all studies, 56.64 % of patients were considered to have a VEGF-C-positive tumor, and 65.54 % of patients had VEGF-D-positive tumors. High LVD had an unfavorable impact on DFS, with a pooled hazard ratio (HR) of 2.222 (95 % CI 1.579–3.126) and an OS with a HR of 2.493 (95 % CI 1.183–5.25). According to the different lymphatic makers, the subgroup HR in the D2-40 studies was 2.431 (95 % CI 1.622–3.644) for DFS and 4.085 (95 % CI 1.896–8.799) for OS. VEGF-C overexpression, as assessed by immunochemistry, was a prognostic factor for decreased DFS (HR 2.164; 95 % CI 1.256–3.729) and for decreased OS (HR 2.613; 95 % CI 1.637–4.170). VEGF-D overexpression was a significant although weak prognostic factor for DFS only when assessed by immunochemistry, with a HR of 2.108 (95 % CI 1.014–4.384). Our meta-analysis demonstrated that LVD, VEGF-C and VEGF-D could predict poor prognosis in patients with breast cancer. However, standardization of the assessment of LVD and for the expression of lymphangiogenesis factors is needed.