Abstract: Abstract Objective: To explore the expression and clinical significance of vascular endothelial growth factor in breast tissue in obese breast cancer. Methods：Breast tissue samples from 45 cases with breast cancer, 37 cases of normal weight with breast cancer, the expression of VEGF mRNA and protein of breast tissue were detected by RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry in obese breast cancer group and normal weight breast cancer group,and correlation was analyzed between VEGF mRNA and protein. Results: Compared with normal weight breast cancer group, the expression of VEGF mRNA and protein of breast tissue in obese breast cancer group increased obviously(P<0.05), while the expression of VEGF mRNA and protein were positively correlated (r=0.785，P<0.05); the expression of VEGF in breast tissue in obese breast cancer was relevant with histological grade and 5 years′relcurrence and metastasis, regardless of age. Conclusions: Obese patients with breast cancer own a high expression trend of expression of VEGF mRNA and protein of breast tissue, which indicates that VEGF maybe play an important role in occurrence , evolvement and prognosis of obesity-related breast cancer.

Key words: Breast cancer, vascular endothelial growth factor, Obesity