Prognostic implications of peritumoral vasculature in head and neck cancer

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Michael Evans, Emory University; Harry Baddour Jr, Emory University; Kelly R. Magliocca, Emory University; Susan Muller, Emory University; Sreenivas Nannapaneni, Emory University; Amy Chen, Emory University; Sunjin Kim, Emory University; Zhengjia Chen, Emory University; Dong Shin, Emory University; Andrew Y. Wang, Ocean NanoTech LLC; Nabil Saba, Emory University; Zhuo G. Chen, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2019-01-01
• Publisher: Wiley Open Access
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2018 The Authors. Cancer Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/cam4.1910
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Cancer Medicine
• ISSN: 2045-7634
• Volume: 8
• Issue: 1
• Start Page: 147
• End Page: 154
• Grant/Funding Information: This study was supported by Grant NIH/NCI R43 183312 to AYW and ZGC.
• Keywords: Life Sciences & Biomedicine; Oncology; NODE METASTASIS; prognosis; CARCINOMA; blood vasculature; CELL; Science & Technology; lymphatic vasculature; MICROVESSEL DENSITY; STATISTICS; LYMPHATIC VESSEL DENSITY; SURVIVAL; metastasis; VEGF; head and neck cancer; TUMOR ANGIOGENESIS; LYMPHANGIOGENESIS
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Oncology; Health Sciences, Pathology; Biology, Biostatistics

Abstract

BACKGROUND: There is conflicting evidence regarding the role of peritumoral lymphatic vessel density (LVD) and blood microvessel density (MVD) in the metastasis and prognosis of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Existing studies are limited to one or two head and neck subsites and/or small sample sizes. A larger study incorporating multiple sub-sites is needed to address the role of peritumoral LVD and MVD in HNSCC metastasis and prognosis. METHODS: Tissue samples from 200 HNSCC cases were stained simultaneously using immunohistochemistry (IHC) for markers of peritumoral LVD (lymphatic vessel marker D240) and MVD (blood vessel marker CD31). Of the stained slides, 166 and 167 were evaluable for LVD and MVD, respectively. The results were then correlated with clinicopathologic features and patient outcomes. RESULTS: Patients with metastatic disease were more likely to have high peritumoral MVD. Through multivariable analyses, MVD was not significantly related to DFS and OS, while low LVD was related to higher risk of disease progression and poor survival. CONCLUSIONS: Peritumoral MVD was found to be positively associated with metastasis, while LVD was found to be inversely related to both metastasis and progression of HNSCC. These findings may suggest a prognostic role of both peritumoral LVD and MVD in patients with HNSCC.