A higher CD105-assessed microvessel density and worse prognosis in elderly patients with laryngeal carcinoma

Objectives: To ascertain the prognostic role of endoglin (CD105)-assessed microvessel density (MVD) in patients older than 65 years with laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC), and whether this MVD differed in the elderly patients from younger adult controls. Design: Retrospective clinicopathologic investigation. Setting: Academic tertiary referral center. Patients: Fifty-seven consecutive elderly patients with LSCC and 19 younger adult controls. Main Outcome Measure: Image analysis of immunohistochemical reactions. Results: In LSCCs in elderly patients, N+ stage correlated with a shorter disease-free survival (DFS) (P<.001). A higher CD105-assessed MVD was associated with disease recurrence (P=.006). The DFS was shorter in elderly patients whose CD105 expression was greater than 9.6% than in patients whose CD105 expression was 9.6% or less (P=.001). Among the elderly patients with tumors staged as N0, a higher CD105-assessed MVD correlated with disease recurrence (P=.006) and a shorter DFS (P=.001). CD105-assessed MVD in LSCC occurring in elderly patients did not differ from the situation observed in younger adult controls (P=.74). Conclusions: In LSCC occurring in elderly patients, CD105-assessed MVD may be a useful N-stage independent, angiogenic prognostic marker for pinpointing: (1) patients at higher risk of disease recurrence; and (2) patients with N0 tumors at higher risk of early recurrence, who may benefit from more aggressive therapy. ©2011 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.