How useful is the assessment of lymphatic vascular density in oral carcinoma prognosis?

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2007

Authors

Longatto Filho, A (Author) Other; Oliveira, TG (Author) Other; Pinheiro, C (Author) Other; de Carvalho, MB (Author) Other; Curioni, OA (Author) Other; da Cunha Mercante, AM (Author) Other; Fernando Schmitt (Author) FMUP; Gattas, GJF (Author) Other

Journal

Title: World Journal of Surgical Oncology

Vol. 5

Final page: 140

ISSN: 1477-7819

Publisher: Springer Nature

Indexing

Scopus - 35 Citations

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-007-KEJ

DOI: 10.1186/1477-7819-5-140

Abstract (EN): Background: Lymphatic vessels are major routes for metastasis in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), but lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs) are difficult to recognize in tumor histological sections. D2-40 stains podoplanin, a molecule expressed in LECs, however, the potential prognostic usefulness of this molecule is not completely understood in HNSCC. We aimed to investigate the value of assessing peritumoral and intratumoral lymphatic vessel density (LVD) as prognostic marker for HNSCC. Methods: Thirty-one cases of HNSCC were stained for D2-40 and CD31. LVD and blood vessel density (BVD) were assessed by counting positive reactions in 10 hotspot areas at ×200 magnification. Results: D2-40 was specific for lymphatic vessels and did not stain blood vascular endothelial cells. LECs showed more tortuous and disorganized structure in intratumoral lymphatic vessels than in peritumoral ones. No statistical differences were observed between peritumoral-LVD and intratumoral-LVD or between peritumoral-BVD and intratumoral-BVD. Tumor D2-40 staining was positively associated with lymphatic vessel invasion (p = 0.011). Conclusion: LVD is a powerful marker for HNSCC prognosis. We found significant differences in peritumoral and intratumoral D2-40 immunoreactivity, which could have important implications in future therapeutic strategies and outcome evaluation. © 2007 Longatto Filho et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific