VEGF and Ki-67 Expression in Colorectal Cancer: The Long-Term Impact on Recurrence and Mortality
Pedro Miguel Dias dos Santos1, Inês Sá Pereira2, Adhemar Longato3, Sandra F Martins41General Surgery Resident, Torres Vedras’s Hospital, Internship in General Surgery at Braga’s Hospital, Portugal, 2Faculty of Medicine, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal, 3Life and Health Science Research Institute (ICVS), Faculty of Medicine, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal, 4Life and Health Science Research Institute (ICVS), Faculty of Medicine, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal Life and Health Science Research Institute (ICVS), Faculty of Medicine, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal Coloproctology Unit, Braga’s Hospital, Braga, Portugal,
Objectives: Colorectal cancer is the most frequent and mortal cancer in Portugal. Both angiogenesis and cellular proliferation are core mechanisms to tumoral progression, with VEGF (Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor) and Ki-67, respectively, being widely known markers of those two processes. The purposes of this study are to comprehend VEGF and Ki-67’s impact on colorectal cancer prognosis which include assessing its expression in primary colorectal cancer of patients who underwent surgery, establishing associations between the expression of VEGF and Ki-67 and discovering hypothetical associations between these biomarkers and clinicopathological aspects, relapse, and mortality of patients. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted in our hospital by including 512 patients submitted to surgery, from 2005 to 2010, with a post-operatory diagnosis of colorectal adenocarcinoma. The evaluation of expression of VEGF and Ki-67 in the obtained tissue was made through immunohistochemistry technique. The statistical analysis resourced to association tests and survival analysis. Results: VEGF-A showed association with the variable gender (p-value of 0.016), with its expression being more frequent in men. VEGF-C expression is more common in colon than in rectum (p- value of 0.042). VEGF-C is significantly associated with Ki-67 (p-value of 0.036), with 69.7% of cases where both are positive. All markers are significantly associated with the grade of differentiation, with the VEGF family generally more present in well or moderately differentiated tumours and Ki-67 in the poorly differentiated. While the survival time was generally lower in the presence of any marker or combination, no significant differences were found among the survival analysis. Conclusion: VEGF-A, VEGF-C and Ki-67 expression did not show impact on the prognosis of this sample of patients. There was no significant association with a poorer overall survival or a reduced disease-free survival. Keywords: Colorectal cancer, Ki-67, mortality, recurrence, VEGF
Cite This Article
Santos P, Pereira I, Longato A, Martins S. VEGF and Ki-67 Expression in Colorectal Cancer: The Long-Term Impact on Recurrence and Mortality. EJMO. 2022; 6(3): 258-267
Corresponding Author: Pedro Miguel Dias dos Santos