A Clinicopathological Study of Angiogenesis in Superficial Esophageal Cancer

Kyoichi Mizutani, Hiroyasu Makuuchi, Toshio Mitomi, Yoshiyuki Osamura*

Second Department of Surgery and *Department of Pathology, Tokai University School of Medicine

We performed factor VIII-related antigen staining of 37 resected superficial esophageal squamous cell carcinomas in order to determine the relationship between angiogenesis and clinicopathological factors. A computer image analysis system was used to measure microvessels inside the tumor (intratumor) and in the normal tissue around the tumor (extratumor) in 3 visual fields from each stained specimen. The mean number of blood vessels and mean blood vessel surface area (%) per visual field were calculated, and then compared with each of the clinicopathological factors. The mean intratumor blood vessel surface area (%) was significantly smaller in m1 and m2 lesions than in the other lesions (m3-sm3). No differences in mean extratumor blood vessel surface area (%) were found in relation to depth of invasion. The mean number of extratumor blood vessels was significantly (p<0.01) lower than the mean number of intratumor blood vessels in m3 and sm1 patients without lymph node metastases (n) or vascular invasion (ly, v). Thus, intratumor angiogenesis appears to contribute to the process by which superficial esophageal cancer grows from m1/m2 to m3. These results also suggest that determining the mean number of intratumor and extratumor blood vessels may be useful when deciding on the suitability of endoscopic mucosal resection.

Key words
superficial esophageal cancer, angiogenesis, factor VIII-related antigen, computer image analysis

Reprint requests
Kyoichi Mizutani Second Department of Surgery, Tokai University School of Medicine
Bohseidai, Isehara, 259-11 JAPAN

Accepted
October 9, 1996

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