High expression levels of Cyr61 and VEGF are associated with poor prognosis in osteosarcoma

Cysteine Rich Angiogenic Inducer 61 (Cyr61) and Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) are signaling proteins involved in the regulation of tumor angiogenesis and progression. The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinicopathological and prognostic significance of Cyr61 and VEGF expressions in osteosarcoma. Immunohistochemical staining was performed to evaluate the expression of both the proteins in 84 osteosarcoma samples. Correlation between Cyr61/VEGF expressions and clinicopathological parameters was determined using Rank sum test and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient. Prognostic factors were identified using univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis. The expressions of Cyr61 and VEGF were weak in 26.2% and 17.9%, moderate in 26.2% and 23.8%, and strong in 47.6% and 58.3% of osteosarcoma samples, respectively. Cyr61 and VEGF expressions moderately correlated with each other in osteosarcoma, and exhibited significant association with Enneking stage and distant metastasis. In addition, the high expression of both proteins significantly correlated with short overall survival time in these patients. The key finding in this study was that both Cyr61 and VEGF expressions were independent prognostic indicators of overall survival. In summary, our results indicate that expression of Cyr61 and VEGF may serve as important prognostic predictors in patients with osteosarcoma.