Abstract: Objective：To detect the expression of HIF-1α and VEGF in the tissues of normal pregnancy villi, hydatidiform moles and gestational trophoblastic neoplasm (GTN), and to explore the clinical significance. Methods：20 cases of normal pregnancy villi (normal pregnancy villi group), 35 cases of hydatidiform moles (hydatidiform moles group), 28 cases of GTN tissues [concluding 14 cases of invasive moles (invasive moles group) and 14 cases of choriocarcinoma (choriocarcinoma group)] were collected. The protein expression of HIF-1α and VEGF in the tissues were detected by the immunohistochemistry assay. The expression of HIF-1α and VEGF in different age, FIGO stage of GTN patients were analyzed. The correlation between HIF-1α and VEGF expression in GTN tissue samples was analyzed. Results：There was no significant difference in the positive rate of HIF-1α and VEGF protein between the normal early pregnancy villi group and the hydatidiform mole group (P＞0.05). The positive rates of HIF-1α and VEGF in the normal pregnancy villi group and hydatidiform mole group were much lower than those in the invasive hydatidiform mole group and choriocarcinoma group (P＜0.05). Moreover, there was no difference in the positive rates of HIF-1α and VEGF between the invasive moles group and choriocarcinoma group (P＞0.05). In the GTN tissues, the expression of HIF-1α and VEGF were correlated with the FIGO stages (P＜0.05), but were not correlated with the age (P＞0.05). The expression of HIF-1α and VEGF were positively related in the GTN tissues (rs=0.995, P=0.000). Conclusions：HIF-1α and VEGF may play a synergistic role in the occurrence and malignant progression of GTN.

Key words: Gestational trophoblastic neoplasms, Chorionic villi, Hypoxia-inducible factor 1, alpha subunit, Vascular endothelial growth factors, Immunohistochemistry