Abstract:

Objective    To determine expressions of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and its receptor c-met, and to evaluate their relationship to lymphangiogenesis and lymphatic metastasis in breast carcinoma. Methods    Applying the immunohistochemical SP method, lymphatic vessels and expressions of HGF and c-met were detected in 70 breast carcinomas and 22 mammary benign neoplasms. And the lymphatic micro-vessel density (LMVD) was counted. The relationship of HGF and c-met to LMVD and the clinicopathological features of breast carcinoma were then analyzed. Results    HGF/c-met were highly expressed in breast carcinoma, and their expression positive rates were significantly higher than those in benign neoplasm（HGF: 61.43% vs 31.82%, c-met: 80.00% vs 45.45%，　both P＜0.05）. The LMVD of breast carcinoma was significantly higher than that of benign neoplasm (using Rank Test, U=366.00, P＜0.05 ). Higher LMVD was found in breast carcinoma with HGF- or c-metpositive expression than in that with negative expression［HGF:(17.00±5.23)　vs　(10.36±4.12), t=5.594, P＜0.05； c-met: (15.64±5.50)　vs　(9.65±4.46), t=3.769, P＜0.05］. Expressions of HGF and c-met were positively correlated with TNM stage and lymph nodemetastasis (both P＜0.05). Conclusion    Over-expressions of HGF and c-met can promote breast carcinoma lymphangiogenesis and lymphatic metastasis.

Key words: Breast neoplasms; Hepatocyte growth factor; Receptor, c-met; Lymphangiogenesis