Journal
BIOMEDICINES
Volume 11, Issue 10, Pages -Publisher
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines11102724
Keywords
angiogenesis; oral squamous cell carcinoma; microvessel density; spatial heterogeneity; survival; immunohistochemistry
Ask authors/readers for more resources
This study investigated the spatial heterogeneity of blood vessels in oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCC) and evaluated its prognostic value. The results showed a significantly higher presence of blood vessels at the invasion front of OSCCs compared to the tumor center. High intratumoral blood vessel density was associated with better disease-free survival.
(1) Background Oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCC) are a common malignancy of the oral cavity and are often diagnosed when they have already spread to the regional lymph nodes. Advanced stages of cancer are characterized by the development of distant metastases. Angiogenesis, a hallmark of cancer, is known to contribute to cancer progression and metastasis. High microvessel density (MVD) has been linked to poor clinical outcomes in various types of cancer. (2) Methods: In this study, we aimed to investigate the spatial heterogeneity of blood vessels by comparing the tumor center and invasion front and to evaluate its prognostic value in OSCC. A total of 71 OSCC patient specimens were collected. The tissue was immunohistochemically stained using CD31 antibody to assess the MVD in the tumor center and the invasion front. Furthermore, the associations between the histopathological parameters, including MVD, disease-free survival (DFS), and overall survival (OS) were computed. (3) Results: In our study, we found a significantly higher presence of blood vessels at the invasion front of OSCCs compared to the tumor center. However, we did not observe any significant differences in MVD between different tumor stages. High intratumoral MVD was shown to be a positive prognostic factor for DFS (p = 0.047). (4) Conclusions: To the best of our knowledge, we were the first to analyze MVD as a prognostic factor by considering its spatial heterogeneity in OSCC. However, further studies are warranted to further elucidate the complexity of microvascular spatial heterogeneity and its influence on prognosis.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available