Expression and clinical significance of CTHRC1 and VEGF in ovarian cancer

Objective To investigate the expression of triple helix repeat collagen 1 (CTHRC1) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in ovarian cancer and its clinical significance. Methods From January 2012 to January 2017, 86 ovarian cancer specimens and 80 normal ovarian tissues were selected. The expression of CTHRC1 and VEGF were detected by immunohistochemical staining. Results The positive rate was 67.44% for CTHRC1 and 69.77% for VEGF in ovarian cancer tissues, which were significantly higher than those in normal ovarian tissues (P<0.05). The positive expression rate of CTHRC1 was 96.43%, 80.36% and 90.32% in patients at FIGO stage Ⅲ-Ⅳ, at pathological grade G3 and with lymph node metastasis respectively, which were significantly higher than those in patients at FIGO stage Ⅰ-Ⅱ, at pathological grade G1+G2 and without lymph node metastasis (P<0.05). The positive expression rate of VEGF was 85.71% and 90.32% in patients with FIGO stage Ⅲ-Ⅳ and lymph node metastasis respectively, which were significantly higher than that in patients with stage Ⅰ-Ⅱ FIGO and without lymph node metastasis (P<0.05). The expression of CTHRC1 and VEGF in ovarian cancer tissues was positively correlated (r_s=0.515, P<0.05). Conclusions The expression of CTHRC1 and VEGF are up-regulated in ovarian cancer tissues, which may be related to FIGO stage, pathological grade and lymph node metastasis. The expression of CTHRC1 and VEGF is positively correlated, is worth further study.