Objective To determine whether tumor angiogenesis correlates with progression of colorectal carcinoma. Methods Microvessel counts (MVC) of 102 specimens resected from patients with colorectal carcinoma were investigated by immunohistological staining with a monocolonal antibody against FⅧ RAg, the mean number of microvessels in three areas of highest vascular density were counted under 200 times magnification microscope. Correlation of MVC with various clinicopathologic factors, and prognosis was studied. Results MVC was increased with Dukes stage, the MVC of patients with advanced stage disease was significantly higher than that of early stage patients (P＜0.01). MVC was significantly higher in tumors with lymph node metastasis and liver metastasis (P＜0.01) than in those without such metastasis. The recurrence rate after curative resection in hypervascular group (MVC≥14, 60.4%) was significantly higher (P＜0.01) than that in the hypovascular group (MVC＜14,26.5%).Moreover, the prognosis of patients with a high MVC was significantly poorer than that of those with a low MVC (P＜0.01). Conclusion Angiogenesis within colorectal cancer is an indicator of tumor behavior and may identify patients at higher risk for recurrence and poorer prognosis.
