Abstract

The study aimed to investigate the relationship between the expressions of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), microvessel density (MVD) and the appearances on enhanced CT scan in lung cancer patients. Findings on dynamic CT scan were evaluated respectively in 35 patients without lung cancer (control) and 25 lung cancer patients receiving chemotherapy or radiotherapy followed by complete resection. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expressions of COX-2, VEGF and MVD and the relationships between CT enhancement value, histological types, clinic stages, lymph node metastasis, differentiation grades and the expressions of COX-2, VEGF and MVD were evaluated. The expressions of COX-2, VEGF and MVD (t = 11.615, 14.187, 10.524, respectively; P<0.05) and the CT enhancement value (q = 21.59, 67.81, respectively; P<0.01) in the lung cancer group were significantly higher than those in the control group. In addition, the expressions of COX-2, VEGF and MVD were related to the CT enhancement value, histological types, clinic stages and lymph node metastasis, but have no relevance with the differentiation grades among lung cancer patients. Dynamic CT enhancement scans can reflect the vascularity of lung cancer.

Key words: Lung cancer, immunohistochemistry, cyclooxygenase-2, vascular endothelial growth factor, microvessel density, CT enhancement value.