Measurement of microvascular density and the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor in patients with endometriosis

Objective To investigate the clinical significance of the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and the measurement of microvascular density (MVD) in patients with endometriosis.Methods Immunohistochemistry assay was used to measure the level of VEGF in 30 cases of eutopic endometrium, 30 cases of ectopic endometrium, and 15 cases of normal endometrium. The blood vessel density was estimated by counting staining with an endothelial marker CD34.Results The level of VEGF in glandular epithelium cells in eutopic and ectopic endometrium was much higher than that of normal control. Compared with eutopic endometrium,the VEGF in ectopic endometrium increased significantly( P 0.05), but showed no cyclic change. MVD and the area of the blood vessel wall and cavity in eutopic and ectopic endometrium were larger than that of normal control. Conclusion The higher expression of VEGF may be involved in development of endometrosis.