Quantitative evaluation of angiogenesis in laryngeal cancer by digital image measurement of the vessel density

Objective: the aim of our study was determination of the relationship between angiogenesis and clinical as well as histological features in laryngeal cancer. Methods: we used two different methods of estimation of the amount of microvessels in the series of 55 cases, e.g. classical count of endothelial cells group (h-MVD) and digital image measurement of the vessel density (VD). Results: neither h-MVD nor VD correlated significantly with clinical features of the tumour. The results of VD examination correlated significantly with the existence of nodal metastases (P=0.02). The relationship between h-MVD and N status was on the statistical borderline (P=0.07). Multivariate analysis of Coxʹs proportional hazards model revealed that only N status correlated significantly with patients’ survival. Conclusion: our results indicate that measurements of angiogenesis in laryngeal cancer may be of some value in predicting N status in laryngeal cancer patients. This issue should be confirmed in prospective studies.