Expression of Hypoxia-inducible Factor-1alpha and Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor in Colon Cancer: Relationship to the Prognosis and Tumor Markers

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Angiogenesis is one of the key steps in solid tumor growth and metastasis. We investigated the prognostic significance of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and hypoxia-inducible factor 1alpha (HIF-1alpha) expressions as markers of angiogenesis in colon cancer. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 78 patients with colon or rectal cancer who underwent a surgical resection at Soonchunhyang University Hospital from January 2000 to December 2001, and we evaluated the expression of VEGF and HIF-1alpha in archival tumor tissues by using immunohistochemistry. We recorded the clinical and the pathological characteristics of the patients and analyzed their survival outcomes. RESULTS: Thirty-four (34) patients were male, and the mean age of all the patients was 66.7 years. HIF-1alpha and VEGF were positive in 56% (44 patients) and 53% (42 patients) of the tumors, respectively. HIF-1alpha expression was significantly associated with several pathological parameters, such as TNM stage (P=0.001), lymph node metastasis (P=0.001). HIF-1alpha expression was also associated with VEGF expression (P=0.032). The survival of patients with HIF-1alpha expression was worse than that of patients with no HIF-1alpha expression (P=0.036). However, VEGF expression was not associated with other pathological characteristics. CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that, in cases of colorectal cancer, HIF-1alpha expression may be associated with expression of VEGF, progression of tumors, and poor prognosis.