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Vasculogenic mimicry is a prognostic factor for postoperative survival in patients with glioblastoma

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Abstract

A previous report has confirmed the existence and clinical significance of vasculogenic mimicry (VM) in glioma. However, its conclusions about the negative clinical significance of VM in glioblastoma are based on a small group of patients and, thus, might be unconvincing. The aim of the present study was to reevaluate the clinical significance of VM in glioblastoma. Patients were classified as VM-positive or VM-negative according to CD34 and periodic acid-Schiff staining. The association between VM and the clinical characteristics of the patients was analyzed. Univariate and multivariate analyses were carried out to identify the independent prognostic factors for overall survival using the Cox regression hazard model. Survival times were estimated using the Kaplan–Meier method and compared using the log-rank test. Of all 86 glioblastomas, 23 were found to have VM. The presence of VM in glioblastoma was not associated with gender, age, Karnofsky performance status, hydrocephalus, tumor burden, microvessel density, tumor relapse, or the extent of tumor resection. The univariate and multivariate analyses revealed that VM is an independent prognostic factor for overall survival. The median survival time for patients with VM was 11.17 months compared with 16.10 months for those without VM (P = 0.017). In addition to VM, an age of 65 years or older, a KPS of 60 or less, a large tumor burden are significant prognostic factors for patient survival. Our data suggest that VM might be an independent adverse prognostic factor in newly diagnosed GBM, further prospective studies are needed to answer this question.

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Acknowledgments

We express our gratitude to Professor Shengli An (Department of Biostatistics, Southern Medical University) for the statistical data analyses and Mr. Xuan Lu (Department of Pathology, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University) for the sectioning of tissues. This project was supported by the National Science Foundation of China (Nos. 30901774 and 81272806) and the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province, China (No. 8151051501000066).

Conflict of interest

The authors disclose that no potential conflicts of interest exist.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurosurgery, Zhujiang Hospital, National Key Clinic Department, Neurosurgery Institute, Key Laboratory on Brain Function Repair and Regeneration of Guangdong, Southern Medical University, Gongye Road 253, Guangzhou, 510282, China

    Shi-yong Wang, Yi-quan Ke, Guo-hui Lu, Zhen-hua Song, Xin-lin Sun, Xiao-dan Jiang & Zhi-lin Yang

  2. Department of Pathology, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Gongye Road 253, Guangzhou, 510282, China

    Li Yu & Sha Xiao

  3. Department of Neurosurgery, Shanxi Provincial People’s Hospital, Taiyuan, 030012, China

    Chang-chen Hu

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  1. Shi-yong Wang
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Correspondence to Yi-quan Ke.

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Shi-yong Wang and Yi-quan Ke contributed equally to this study.

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Wang, Sy., Ke, Yq., Lu, Gh. et al. Vasculogenic mimicry is a prognostic factor for postoperative survival in patients with glioblastoma. J Neurooncol 112, 339–345 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11060-013-1077-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11060-013-1077-7

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