Expression of cyclooxygenase-2,vascular endothelial growth factor-c and CD44v6 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma tissue

Objective To investigate the expression of cyclooxygenase-2(COX-2),vascular endothelial growth factor-c(VEGF-C),CD44v6 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma(ESCC)tissue and it's relation with the clinicopathalogy features.Methods The expression of COX-2,VEGF-C and CD44v6 in 58 cases of ESCC were detected by immnohistochemical staining.Rusults The positive rates of COX-2,VEGF-C and CD44v6 in ESCC tissue were 70.6%,53.4%,65.5%,respectively.The positive expression rates of COX-2,VEGF-C and CD44v6 were not correlated with the degree of sex,clinical stage and differentiation(P>0.05),but that of VEGF-C and CD44V6 correlated remarkably with lymph metastasis(P 0.05).Conclusions The expression of COX-2,VEGF-C and CD44v6 in ESCC tissue might play a role in lymphatic metastasis via lymphangiogenesis. Key words: Esophageal neoplasm; Squamous cell carcinoma; Cyclooxygenase-2; Vascular endothelial growth factor-c; CD44v6