Abstract
Angiogenesis is a process of formation of new vessels from the preexisting ones.Although a lot is known about angiogenesis in solid tumors where it plays a role in tumoral invasion and its metastatic potential, in hematological malignancies it has been appreciated only recently. Angiogenesis can be studied at different levels; histologically,it is studied in the infiltrated tissues and quantified as microvessel density (MVD).The aims of our study were to introduce the method of MVD quantification in the bone marrow using immunohistochemical detection of endothelial markers (fVIII) and then evaluate MVD in bone marrow samples in a group of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and compare the results with a control group of patients (CON).
In our study, both the number and the area of microvessels were increased in bone marrow of patients with CLL. It can be concluded that are signs of abnormal angiogenesis in bone marrow of patients with CLL but larger study with longer follow-up is needed.