Abstract:

Objective     To investigate expressions of hepatoma-derived growth factor(HDGF) and micro-vascular density(MVD) and their correlations with clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis in patients with extrahepatic cholangio-carcinoma. Methods    Expressions of HDGF and MVD were analyzed in 65 patients after surgery for extra-hepatic cholangio-carcinoma by immunohistochemistry using the avidin-biotin peroxidase complex method,  and then their correlations with clinicopathological characteristics and survival time of patients were analyzed.  ResultsImmunohistochemical results showed positive expression rates of HDGF and MVD were 46.2% and 58.5%, respectively. Spearman rank correlation analysis demonstrated HDGF and MVD expressions had a positive correlation(r=0.279,P=0.024).   Survival analysis showed that the HDGF-positive group had a significantly poorer survival rate than the HDGF-negative group did (23.3% vs 62.9%, P<0.001). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that HDGF expression is an independent prognostic factor.  Conclusions    HDGF expression significantly correlates with MVD and is an independent prognostic factor for human extra-hepatic cholangio-carcinoma. HDGF plays an important role in promoting angiogenesis during the development of extrahepatic cholangio-carcinoma.

Key words: Hepatoma-derived growth factor； Microvascular density； Extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma； Prognosis