EXPRESSION OF VEGF IN BREAST CANCER

Aim: Breast Cancer is the most frequent cancer in India. Tumor angiogenesis has been considered as a crucial step in the cancer development and progression. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is one important prognostic marker in patients with breast cancer .The aim of the study is to see the expression of VEGF in breast cancers by immunohistochemistry. . Materials and methods: Formalin fixed paraffin embedded sections of 100 cases of malignant breast lesions were taken up for the study and subjected to immunohistochemistry using VEGF. Results: The intensity of VEGF immunostaining in malignant breast lesions was evaluated and scoring was graded as 0,1+,2+,3+ and 4+. Statistical analysis was performed with Chi-Square test and significant differences were noted between these 3 groups (p value< 0.05). Conclusion: VEGF expression correlated well with the grade and stages of tumor indicating that VEGF positive tumors are biologically aggressive and are associated with poor prognosis.