Clinical Trial: The Role of Lymphangiogenesis in Head and Neck Cancer Metastasis

Study Status: Completed
Recruit Status: Unknown status
Study Type: Observational

Official Title:

Brief Summary: The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of lymphangiogenesis in the metastasis of head and neck cancer.

Detailed Summary:

Head and neck cancer is a major, worldwide cause of morbidity and mortality. As long as the neoplasm is confined to its organ of origin, the patient can be cured through surgical removal of the tumor mass. Unfortunately, many cancers metastasize to other sites in the body, and metastasis is the leading cause of death in cancer patients. In principle, cancer cells can spread within the body by different mechanisms, such as direct invasion of surrounding tissues (per continuitatem), spread via the blood vascular system (hematogenous metastasis) and spread via the lymphatic system (lymphatic metastasis). Tumor cells can invade either the blood or lymphatic vessels to access the general circulation and then establish themselves in other tissues. Clinicopathological data suggest that the lymphatics are an initial route for the spread of solid tumors. Infiltration of lymphatic vessels by tumor cells has been found at the periphery of many experimental and human tumors, and the lymphatic system has been recognized as a conduit for tumor cell dissemination. Though the significance of angiogenesis for tumor progression has been well documented, the molecular mechanisms regulating the growth and function of lymphatic vessels are largely unknown.

Vascular endothelial growth factors, first identified in 1989, are well-known angiogenic agents and targets for anti-cancer therapies. Now it appears that VEGF-C, one recently-cloned member of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) family, is also involved in developmental and tumor-induced lymphangiogenesis. VEGF signals through two tyrosine kinase receptors, VEGFR-1 and VEGFR-2, which are expressed predominantly but not exclusively on vascular endothelial cells. As neither VEGFR-1 nor VEGFR-2 appears to be highly expressed in lymphatic endothelium, it was not surprising that a third VEGF receptor, VEGFR-3, was found to be predomina
Sponsor: National Taiwan University Hospital

Current Primary Outcome:

Original Primary Outcome:

Current Secondary Outcome:

Original Secondary Outcome:

Information By: National Taiwan University Hospital

Dates:
Date Received: September 12, 2005
Date Started: August 2004
Date Completion:
Last Updated: March 29, 2006
Last Verified: June 2005