Immunohistochemical Expression and Prognostic Value of VEGF, HIF-1alpha, EGFR in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Kim, Myung Sook; Park, Sung Hak

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a potent mediator of angiogenesis. VEGF production is regulated by HIF-1alpha and EGFR. This study examined the relationship between the clinicopathological factors and VEGF, HIF-1alpha and EGFR protein overexpression, and evaluated their prognostic value in patients with a surgically resected non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
METHODS
Patients who underwent a surgical resection at Kangnam St. Mary's hospital were reviewed retrospectively. The core biopsy samples from 54 patients with NSCLC were assembled on a tissue microarray (TMA), and immunohistochemical staining for the VEGF, HIF-1alpha and EGFR proteins was performed. The overexpression of these proteins was evaluated in relation to age, gender, histology and staging by univariate analysis. The clinicopathological prognostic factors were analyzed.
RESULTS
Multivariate analysis performed by Cox regression (odds ratio 2.8, 95% CI 1.0~8.2, p=0.046) revealed HIF-1alpha overexpression to be an unfavorable factor. There was no correlation between the overexpression of these proteins and the clinicopathological factors. VEGF showed a positive relationship with EGFR, but there was no statistical significance [p(chi2)=0.06].
CONCLUSION
HIF-1alpha overexpression predicts shorter survival in patients with a surgically resected NSCLC. Therefore, HIF-1alpha may be a poor prognostic factor in NSCLC.