Acinic cell carcinoma of the salivary glands: an immunohistochemical study of angiogenesis in 12 cases.

Acinic cell carcinoma (ACC) is the third most common epithelial malignancy of the salivary glands in adults, exhibiting a low-grade malignancy that mainly occurs in the parotid gland and at a relatively younger age than other salivary gland tumors. We performed an immunohistochemically study regarding angiogenesis in ACC, by assessing the CD105+ tumor microvessels density and investigating the VEGF and its receptors VEGFR1 and VEGFR2 expression in tumor samples. The results indicated an active angiogenesis in ACC, with the highest CD105-MVD score recorded in the solid variant. This fact was supported by the reactivity of tumor cells and endothelial blood vessel cells for VEGF and its receptors (VEGFR1 and VEGFR2). Thus, we concluded that in ACC do exist autocrine and paracrine VEGF loops implicated in growth and progression of this kind of salivary gland tumors.