Study Of The Relationship Between Morphological Characteristics Of Tumor Microvessel And The Biological Features Of Primary Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Object: To discuss the relationship between morphological characteristics of tumor microvessel and the biological features of hetatocellular carcinoma(HCC).Material and Methods: From Jan. 1998 to Feb.2002 , 32 cases, male 26,female 6,aged 28-76 (mean 50.56?10.52) years, underwent preoperative digital subtraction angiography (DSA) without theraputic embolization in the 301 hospital and 307 hospital. The intervals bewteen DSA and curative resections were 13-70 (mean 31.89?9.11) days. The diameters of the tumors were 2-23 (8.05?6.17) cm. Blood supply of the tumors observed in DSA were graded. Light microscopical study and immunohistochemistrial examination were performed in all the 32 surgical resection specimens to observe tumor size, the histological type of tumor, degrees of tumor differentiation, width of tumor trabecular, diameter and grade of the tumor microvessels, and the tumor microvessel density(MVD). The outcomes ofsuch observation were then statistically analysized.Results:(1) Blood supply of the tumor observed in DSA tended to be negative correlated with tumor differentiation, but possitive correlated with tumor size and microvessel type. (2) While the size of tumor tended to be possitive correlated with tumor microvessel grading, diameter of tumor microvessel, and width of tumor trabecular, but negative correlated with MVD. No relationship were observed between tumor size and the rate of diameter of microvessel to trabecular of the tumor. (3)MVD in hypovascular tumors were less than in moderate and hypervascular tumors. The diameter of tumor microvessel, the rate of diameter of microvessel to trabecular of the tumor tended to enlarged, and the type of tumor microvessels went higher with the increasement of tumor blood supply.Conclusions: The configuration and the density of tumor microvessels were not even distributed in HCC, and the features of tumor microvessels were distinctive in different phases of tumor growth, also in different types of vascularity of the tumors in DSA. Histological differentiation could be estimated in some degree by tumor vascularity seen in DSA. Meanwhile, the relationship between morphological characteristics of tumor microvessel and the clinical biological features of HCC needs to be further studied.