Endothelial Expression of Endocan Is Strongly Associated with Tumor Progression in Pituitary Adenoma
- 21 February 2012
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Wiley in Brain Pathology
- Vol. 22 (6), 757-764
- https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1750-3639.2012.00578.x
Abstract
Although benign, pituitary adenomas frequently invade adjacent sinuses or recur after first surgery. To date, there is no histological marker predictive of recurrence. Angiogenic factors are candidate markers. Endocan is a proteoglycan secreted by endothelial cells, associated with an aggressive behavior in several tumor types. Endocan expression was investigated by immunohistochemistry and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) in 18 normal post‐mortem pituitaries and in 107 patients operated for a pituitary adenoma (with a follow‐up of at least 8 years after surgery). In normal pituitaries, endocan was never observed in vessels but was detected in isolated endocrine cells. In adenoma tissue, we found a strong association between endocan immunoreactivity in endothelial cells and progression (P = 0.0009), as well as tumor size (P = 0.0012), raised mitotic count (P = 0.02) and p53 expression (P = 0.032). Morphometric analysis of the microvessels showed that the mean vessel area was significantly higher in the subgroup of tumors with an endothelial expression of endocan (P = 0.028), coherent with the neoangiogenesis process occurring in the pituitary. The immunolabeling of endocan in endothelial cells may therefore appear to be a relevant marker of aggressive behavior in pituitary tumors.Keywords
This publication has 42 references indexed in Scilit:
- Identification and functional analysis of endothelial tip cell–enriched genesBlood, 2010
- VEGF and CD31 Association in Pituitary AdenomasEndocrine Pathology, 2010
- Over-Expression of the Endocan Gene in Endothelial Cells from Hepatocellular Carcinoma is Associated with Angiogenesis and Tumour InvasionJournal of International Medical Research, 2010
- Transcriptional Switch of Dormant Tumors to Fast-Growing Angiogenic PhenotypeCancer Research, 2009
- Endocan Expression and Relationship with Survival in Human Non–Small Cell Lung CancerClinical Cancer Research, 2006
- The prevalence of pituitary adenomasCancer, 2004
- Postoperative surveillance of clinically nonfunctioning pituitary macroadenomas: markers of tumour quiescence and regrowthClinical Endocrinology, 2003
- Nuclear accumulation of basic fibroblast growth factor as a predictor for the recurrence of pituitary adenomas.Journal of Neuro-Oncology, 2002
- Endocan Is a Novel Chondroitin Sulfate/Dermatan Sulfate Proteoglycan That Promotes Hepatocyte Growth Factor/Scatter Factor Mitogenic ActivityOnline Journal of Public Health Informatics, 2001
- Specific alterations of the basement membrane and stroma antigens in Human pituitary tumours in comparison with the normal anterior pituitary. An immunocytochemical studyVirchows Archiv A Pathological Anatomy and Histopathology, 1992