G-3127

Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) and E-Cadherin Role in Prostate Cancer

 Sina Shahshenas ¹, Sobhan Abedini ¹ ℗, Hossein Yarmohammadi ², Masood Soltanipur ³, Mohammadreza Jalali Nadoushan ⁴ ©   

 
Abstract

Introduction: Prostate cancer is a common male malignancy, and identifying reliable prognostic biomarkers is crucial. This study examines the roles of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF), involved in tumor angiogenesis, and E-Cadherin, linked to cell adhesion and cancer invasiveness, to assess their prognostic value in prostate cancer patients. Materials and Methods: In this study, the expression levels of VEGF and E-Cadherin were evaluated using immunohistochemistry on tissue samples from 78 prostate cancer patients who were diagnosed and treated between 2021 and 2025. For each marker, the final expression level was calculated based on both the number of positive cells and the intensity of staining. The association between the expression of these markers and clinicopathological parameters, including Gleason score and Grade group, was analyzed to assess their prognostic relevance. Results: Among 78 prostate cancer patients, VEGF expression was high in 17, low in 21, and moderate in 40, while E-Cadherin was negative in 17, weak in 15, and positive in 46. The mean age was 70.72 ± 8.74 years, with an average Gleason score of 7.05 ± 0.91 and a mean grade group of 2.5 ± 1.33. A significant negative correlation was found between VEGF and E-Cadherin expression (r = -0.346, p 0.05). Regression analysis showed R² values of 0.123 and 0.121 for VEGF with grade and Gleason score, respectively. For E-Cadherin, R² values were 0.460 for grade and 0.419 for Gleason score. The combined model had R² values of 0.416 for grade and 0.454 for Gleason score. For predicting high-grade tumors (Grade 3), VEGF showed an AUC of 0.680 (p = 0.01), while E-Cadherin demonstrated a stronger predictive value with an AUC of 0.076 (p 0.001). Conclusion and discussion: This study highlights the prognostic value of VEGF and E-Cadherin expression in prostate cancer. The inverse correlation between VEGF and E-Cadherin suggests their opposing roles in tumor progression, where high VEGF promotes angiogenesis and aggressiveness, while reduced E-Cadherin facilitates invasion. E-Cadherin showed stronger associations with Gleason score and grade, indicating its potential as a more reliable prognostic marker. However, the combined analysis of both markers improved predictive accuracy, emphasizing the importance of a multi-marker approach. These findings support further investigation into VEGF and E-Cadherin as targets for prognostication and therapy in prostate cancer management.

Keywords: Prostate cancer; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF); E-Cadherin; Gleason score