We determined whether the expression of VEGF-A and -C and their receptors, Flt-1 and Flt-4, are associated with primary tumor size, regional lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis and prognosis in patients with tongue carcinoma. The expression of VEGF-A and -C, and their receptors, Flt-1 and Flt-4, in biopsy specimens taken from 73 patients with tongue carcinoma were examined by immunohistochemical staining. VEGF-A expression was associated with distant failure and VEGF-C expression correlated with locoregional recurrence and distant failure. Furthermore, VEGF-C expression was associated with lymph node recurrence in N0 cases. Multivariate analysis revealed that VEGF-C expression was an exclusively independent factor influencing lymph node metastasis. In terms of the overall 5-year survival rate, there was no significance correlation between the overall 5-year survival rate and expression of VEGF-A, Flt-1 and Flt-4 expression, whereas there was a significant difference between VEGF-C-positive and VEGF-C-negative cases (VEGF-C-positive, 51.7% vs VEGF-C-negative, 94.2%). Furthermore, there was a significant difference between positive and negative expression for both VEGF-A and VEGF-C. Multivariate analysis revealed that lymph node metastasis and VEGF-C expression were exclusive, independent factors influencing the overall survival rate. VEGF-C expression may be a predictive factor of regional lymph node recurrence and prognosis in patients with tongue carcinoma.

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