Background: Tumor-induced lymphangiogenesis plays a crucial role in metastasis and tumor progression.\nHowever, the significance of intratumoral lymphovascular density (I-LVD) and peritumoral lymphovascular density\n(P-LVD) has been controversial in gastric cancer. The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences of\nclinicopathologic characteristics with respect to I-LVD and P-LVD in gastric cancer.\nMethods: Samples of I-LVD and P-LVD from 66 patients who had undergone radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer\nwere assessed after staining with D2-40, an immunostaining marker for lymphatic endothelium. The mean number\nof lymphatic vessels in three hotspots was calculated in intratumoral and peritumoral areas.\nResults: The peritumoral lymphatics were enlarged with dilated lumens compared to the intratumoral lymphatics.\nI-LVD was positively correlated with diffuse gastric cancer subtype, tumor stage, lymphovascular invasion, tumor\nnode metastasis stage, and overall survival (P <0.05). P-LVD was associated with lymphovascular invasion, node\nstage, and disease-free survival (P <0.05).\nConclusions: We conclude that P-LVD had an important role in lymph node metastasis, while I-LVD was more\nassociated with depth of tumor invasion. However, both LVDs contributed to gastric cancer progression and\nprognosis.
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