Objective: To investigate the presence of vasculogenic mimicry in laryngeal squamous cell carcino- ma and explore its clinical significance.
Method: The presence of vasculogenic mimicry and expression of endotheli- um-dependent vessel in 138 laryngeal squamous cell carcinomas cases were detected by the immunohistochemistry and tissue microarray. Metlab software was used to evaluate the relationship among vasculogenic mimicry, mi- crovessel density and clinic pathological parameters in laryngeal carcinoma.
Result: We found vasculogenic mimicry in 32 (26.23%) of 122 laryngeal carcinoma samples. The mean of microvessel density is 12.61 per high-power field. The vasculogenic mimicry and expression of endothelium-dependent vessel were not significantly related to patient age or gender, tumor location, pathology grade, T stage or N stage (P > 0.05). However, the vasculo- genic mimicry and the mean of microvessel density were a little higher in patients older than 60, with poorly differ- entiated and patients with N₁₋₃ stage. Vasculogenic mimicry was positively correlatedwith microvessel density (r = 0.1927, P < 0.05).
Conclusion: Vasculogenic mimicry can occur in laryngeal carcinoma. Moreover, vasculogenic mimicry may be associated with recurrence and metastasis in laryngeal carcinoma.