Study on the Difference in Expression of VEGF and bFGF and their Receptors in Young and Postmenopausal Women with Breast Cancer

OBJECTIVE To study the difference in expression of VEGF and bFGF and their receptors in young and postmenopausal women with breast cancer.

METHODS Immunohistochemical methods (SABC) were used to study the expression of VEGF, FLK-1, bFGF and FLG on paraffin-embedded sections from 40 cases of young and 30 cases of postmenopausal women with breast cancer, The relationship between axillary lymph node metastasis and the expression of the growth factors and their receptors was studied.

RESULTS The mean expression of VEGF and bFGF and the positive rate of axillary lymph nodes in the young group were higher than that in the postmenopausal group (P<0.01 or P<0.05); the mean values of VEGF, bFGF, FLK-1 and FLG in cases of axillary lymph node metastasis were higher in patients without axillary lymph node metastasis in each group (P< 0.05 or P<0.01); there was a significant difference between the mean expression of VEGF, bFGF, FLK-1 and FLG in cases of stage 0-II comparaed to cases of stage III-IV (P< 0.05 or P<0.01).

CONCLUSION The tumor vasculature is directly related to the high breast cancer aggressiveness in young women, a characteristic that might be due to the high expression of VEGF and bFGF.