EXPRESSION OF VASCULAR ENDOTHELIAL GROWTH FACTOR FAMILY IN ORAL SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMA CELL LINES AND THEIR RELATIONSHIPS TO LYMPH NODE METASTASIS

Angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis are essential requirements for tumor growth, invasion and metastasis. The vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) family, VEGF-A, VEGF-B, VEGF-C and VEGF-D, are thought to be specific potent angio- and lymphangiogenetic stimulators that may play an important role in tumor invasion and metastasis. Although it has been reported that the VEGF family is expressed in a variety of human tumors in different ways, their precise role in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is not well understood. To obtain some clues as to this role, we evaluated the expression levels of the VEGF family in OSCC cell lines (HSC-2, HSC-3, HSC-4 and OSC-19) by using quantitative real-time PCR analysis and investigated the relationship with lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis and intratumoral micro vessel density (MVD) in tumor transplanted nude mice. All of the VEGF family were expressed at different levels in four OSCC cell lines. There were significant correlations between VEGF-A, VEGF-C expression and the incidence of lymph node metastasis and the ratio of MVD. These results suggest that VEGF-A and VEGF-C expression may be useful predictors for lymph node metastasis and implicated to treat patients with head and neck SCC for further aggressive therapy.