Relationship between lymphangiogenesis and lymphatic vessel density in gastric carcinoma

The incidence of gastric carcinoma is increasing and lymphatic metastasis is one of the major causes of death.Vascular endothelial growth factor-C(VEGF-C),Vascular endothelial growth factor D(VEGF-D)linking their receptor(VEGFR-3)can increase lymphangiogenesis,advance lymphatic metastasis,and relate to lymphatic vessel density of tumor.More and more studies of lymphatic vessel of gastric carcinoma cause great attention.We summarizeed the mechanism of lymphangiogenesis,the new development of relationship between lymphangiogenesis and lymphatic vessel density and their clinical significance. Key words: lymphangiogenesis; lymphatic vessel density; vascular endothelial growth factor; vascular endothelial growth factor receptor