Expression of vascular endothelial growth factor in malignant mesothelioma.

Malignant mesothelioma is the most common primary pleural neoplasm. Angiogenesis is an important component of a variety of pathological processes, including carcinogenesis and tumor metastases. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is the most potent known endothelial, cell specific mitogen. The authors assessed the relation between VEGF expression and clinicopathological variables or overall survival, in malignant mesothelioma. We studied 37 patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma and found that 36 out of 37 (97.3%) malignant mesothelioma samples were stained positively for VEGF. An increased expression of VEGF was observed in the epithelioid type compared with the other histological types of malignant mesothelioma, including the biphasic and sarcomatoid types. No statistically significant association was observed between VEGF expression and gender, age, or clinical stage. Furthermore, the expression of VEGF did not impact on the survival of patients with malignant mesothelioma. Although VEGF expression might be important for tumor development and maintenance, it was not identified as a prognostic factor in malignant mesothelioma.