Objective: To study mRNA expression of VEGF-(A, C, D) genes in breast carcinoma and its effect on prognosis.
Methods: The mRNA expression of VEGF-(A, C, D) genes in 61 cases of primary breast carcinoma and 29 cases of benign mammary lesions was detected by TaqMan real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (real-time RT-PCR) technology. The correlation between mRNA expression and various clinicopathologic parameters and survival data was analyzed.
Results: The level of mRNA expression of VEGF-(A, C) genes was significantly higher in primary breast carcinomas (2.79 +/- 1.31 and 3.33 +/- 0.88 respectively) than in benign mammary lesions (1.59 +/- 1.35 and 2.76 +/- 0.55 respectively, P = 0.000 and 0.002 respectively). The percentage of VEGF-D mRNA expression was 73.77% in breast carcinomas, as compared to 51.72% in benign mammary lesions (P = 0.038). However, there was no statistically significant difference in the mRNA expression levels of VEGF-D gene between primary breast carcinomas and benign mammary lesions (P = 0.683). On the other hand, the ratio of VEGF-D mRNA expression to VEGF-C mRNA expression was lower in lymph node-positive than in lymph node-negative cases. This also correlated with the occurrence of nodal metastasis by uni- and multivariate analysis (P(uni) = 0.046 and P(mult) = 0.062). High mRNA expression of VEGF-(A, C) genes was associated with poor disease-free survival (P = 0.030 and 0.044 respectively).
Conclusions: The expression of VEGF-(A, C, D) genes may play a role in the disease progression of breast carcinoma. The ratio of VEGF-D mRNA expression to VEGF-C mRNA expression correlates with the occurrence of lymph node metastasis in breast carcinoma. The mRNA expression of VEGF-(A, C) genes may serve as a useful prognostic indicator in breast cancer.