Abstract
Purpose
Angiogenesis, which plays an important role in tumor growth and metastasis, is regulated by a balance between angiogenic stimulators and inhibitors. Pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF), a secreted glycoprotein is an important inhibitor of angiogenesis. Although the precise mechanisms by which PEDF exerts its actions remain poorly understood, there is growing evidence supporting the role of PEDF as a candidate antitumor agent. In this study, we investigated the role of PEDF in breast cancer.
Methods
We investigated the correlation of PEDF protein levels with cancer progression and prognosis in patients with invasive ductal breast cancer (IDC). We used immunohistochemistry in a cohort of 119 breast cancer patients to examine the expression of PEDF protein with an anti-PEDF antibody and to measure the microvessel density (MVD) with an anti-CD34 antibody.
Results
PEDF was an endogenous inhibitor of angiogenesis in endothelial cells. Decreased intratumoral expression of PEDF was associated with a higher microvessel density (MVD), a more metastatic phenotype, and poorer clinical outcome. PEDF was positive in 43.7% patients. Patients with low PEDF expression had a significantly higher MVD count when compared with patients with high PEDF expression. In univariate and multivariate analysis, PEDF was an independent prognostic factor.
Conclusion
The inverse correlation between PEDF expression and MVD in human breast cancer suggests that low PEDF expression is associated with angiogenesis in breast cancer. PEDF expression is therefore a potentially useful prognostic marker for breast cancer.
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Acknowledgments
The authors thank Dr. Hong-Fei Ji, Yi Hong-Li, and Wei-Xu, for their contribution to experiments and data. This work was supported by project grants from the Science Foundation of Department of Public Health in China (Code WKJ2007-3-001).
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None of the authors had any conflict of interest.
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The authors D. Zhou and S.-Q. Cheng are contributed equally to this article.
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Zhou, D., Cheng, SQ., Ji, HF. et al. Evaluation of protein pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) and microvessel density (MVD) as prognostic indicators in breast cancer. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol 136, 1719–1727 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-010-0830-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-010-0830-y