The Role of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a highly vascularized malignancy, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) plays a pivotal role in its angiogenesis. This retrospective study aimed to comprehensively evaluate the significance of VEGF in HCC. A total of 150 HCC patients who underwent curative - intent resection at our institution between 2015 and 2020 were included. VEGF expression in tumor tissues was assessed by immunohistochemistry. Clinicopathological characteristics, overall survival (OS), and recurrence - free survival (RFS) were analyzed. High VEGF expression was significantly associated with larger tumor size (p = 0.02), advanced TNM stage (p = 0.01), and microvascular invasion (p = 0.003). Multivariate analysis revealed that high VEGF expression was an independent predictor of poor OS (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.1, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.3 - 3.4, p = 0.002) and RFS (HR = 1.8, 95% CI: 1.1 - 2.9, p = 0.02). These findings underscore the crucial role of VEGF in HCC progression and its potential as a prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target.