Towards a biological staging model for operable XXXX .

@entity1 @entity588 @entity1476 @entity5 @entity470 @entity39 @entity1149 @entity7 @entity876 @entity3546 @entity519 @entity1495 @entity1722
@entity1149 is the most common cause of @entity5 in North America and Europe. Despite improvements in the diagnosis and treatment of the disease the prognosis remains poor, the overall 5-year survival being 4-14%. An increased understanding of the molecular biology of the disease may identify novel targets for drug development. We evaluated @entity470 ( @entity470 ), @entity1722 , @entity1476 , @entity1495 , @entity876 and @entity588 expression and microvessel density (MVD) in @entity1 who underwent surgery with curative intent in our department between 1991 and 1996. Co-expression of @entity470 / @entity1495 , MVD and @entity588 were found to be independent prognostic variables, which allowed prediction of @entity1 outcome independent of surgical stage. Other prognostic factors identified in our series were gender, surgical stage, platelet count, extent of @entity39 , the @entity519 marker carbonic anhydrase-9 and @entity3546 . In collaboration with groups in Oxford and Greece, we were also able to establish the angiogenic growth factors @entity7 and platelet-derived endothelial growth factor as prognostic variables. The inter-relationships between these factors are currently being examined in an expanded @entity1 series. Through this work we hope to be able to construct an integrated biological prognostic model which can be tested in prospective studies. This work has identified several potential targets for novel therapeutic agents currently in development.
