Objective: To investigate the impact of primary hypertension on angiogenesis in the tissues of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).
Methods: Immunohistochemistry was carried out to examine the expression of CD34, so as to calculate the microvassel density (MVD), and the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the tissues of prostatic gland, resected during operation, of 50 simple BPH patients, aged 68.3 (56 approximately 83), and 50 patients with BPH with hypertension, aged 69.0 (55 approximately 91) with a course of hypertension of 16.5 +/- 11.9 years (1 - 41 years).
Results: The MVD of the simple BPH group was 23.1 +/- 9.2, significantly lower than that of the BPH complicated with hypertension group (28.2 +/- 9.5, P < 0.01), especially the BPH complicated with hypertension group with a course >/= 15 years (31.3 +/- 8.5). The MVD of the BPH complicated with hypertension group with a course >/= 15 years was significantly higher than that of the BPH complicated with hypertension group with a course < 15 years (25.7 +/- 9.7, P < 0.05). The VEGF positive rate of the stroma of the simple BPH group was 46.0%, significantly lower than that of the BPH complicated with hypertension group (66.0%, P < 0.05), especially that of the BPH complicated with hypertension group with a course >/= 15 years (81.8%). The VEGF positive rate of the stroma of the BPH complicated with hypertension group with a course >/= 15 years was significantly higher than that of the BPH complicated with hypertension group with a course < 15 years (53.6%, P < 0.05). In the group of BPH with hypertension, MVD was positively correlated with the expression of VEGF in the stromal tissue (R = 0.11, P < 0.05).
Conclusion: Hypertension may be closely related to the increased expression of VEGF in prostatic stroma. The increased expression of VEGF may induce angiogenesis and consequently lead to clinical progression of BPH in patients with hypertension.