Vascular endothelial growth factor suppresses dendritic cells function of human prostate cancer.

Purpose: Prostate cancer (PCa) patients often have dendritic cell (DC) function defects, but the mechanism is not clear. The aim of this study was to detect the effect of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in mature DCs.

Patients and methods: In this study, we chose 30 PCa patients, 10 prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) patients and 30 benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) patients, and compared the composition of peripheral blood T cells, the composition and function of local dendritic cells in prostate tissue, and the density of local VEGF.

Results: The results showed that the numbers of total DCs, mature and functional DCs, and CD4+ T cells were inhibited in PCa, and the inhibitory effect was enhanced with increased malignancy. In addition, the infiltration density of VEGF-positive cells was increased in PCa, and this increase was associated with an increased malignant degree of PCa. The inhibition of tumor immunity in patients with PCa is achieved by inhibiting the function of dendritic cells.

Conclusion: VEGF plays an important role in the inhibition of the maturation and function of dendritic cells, and this inhibition is gradually increased with an increasing malignant degree of PCa.