Vascular endothelial growth factor is implicated in early invasion in cervical cancer

The association between the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and clinicopathological factors has scarcely been examined in cervical cancer. This study examines the level of VEGF messenger RNA (mRNA) expression in invasive cervical cancer and its association with clinicopathological features including microvessel density. The level of VEGF mRNA was assessed by semiquantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using β-actin as an internal control in 66 patients with stages Ia-IVb invasive cervical cancer. In 42 patients who underwent surgery, the microvessel count was also assessed by immunostaining for factor VIII- related antigen in the most neovascularised area of the specimen. The highest level of VEGF mRNA expression was observed in early invasive cervical cancers. Except for stage IVb, the stage of the disease inversely correlated with the level of VEGF mRNA (P