Vascular endothelial growth factor-D is an independent prognostic factor in epithelial ovarian carcinoma
2003

VEGF-D and Ovarian Cancer Prognosis

Sample size: 90 publication 10 minutes Evidence: high

Author Information

Author(s): Yokoyama Y, Charnock-Jones D S, Licence D, Yanaihara A, Hastings J M, Holland C M, Emoto M, Umemoto M, Sakamoto T, Sato S, Mizunuma H, Smith S K

Primary Institution: University of Cambridge

Hypothesis

The presence of VEGF-C and VEGF-D is correlated with patient survival and lymphatic metastasis in ovarian carcinoma.

Conclusion

VEGF-D is an independent prognostic factor for poor survival in ovarian carcinoma patients.

Supporting Evidence

  • Patients with high levels of VEGF-D had a significantly worse prognosis.
  • VEGF-D was found to be an independent prognostic factor for poor survival.
  • VEGF-C and VEGF-D levels increased with the progression from benign tumors to carcinomas.

Takeaway

This study found that a protein called VEGF-D can help predict how well patients with ovarian cancer will do, with higher levels meaning a worse outlook.

Methodology

Immunohistochemical examination of 90 ovarian tumors to assess the presence of VEGF-C, VEGF-D, and VEGFR-3.

Potential Biases

Potential bias in patient selection and retrospective data collection.

Limitations

The study is retrospective and may not account for all confounding factors.

Participant Demographics

Women surgically treated for ovarian tumors at Hirosaki University Hospital between 1989 and 2000.

Statistical Information

P-Value

p<0.0001 for VEGF-D and lymph node metastasis.

Confidence Interval

95% CI: 2.33–83.33 for VEGF-D.

Statistical Significance

p<0.05

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1038/sj.bjc.6600701

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