Surgical specimens and tumor cells in primary culture of salivary pleomorphic adenomas were used for immunohistochemistry for CD31, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its receptors Flk-1 and Flt-1, as well as for hypoxia markers, such as hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha (HIF-1alpha) and lactate dehydrogenase-1 (LDH).
The correlation between VEGF165b and VEGFR2 in mixed tumors suggests the existence of an additional antiangiogenic pathway in poorly vascularized mixed tumors.