Abstract: Objective To investigate the expressions of phosphorylated signal transducer and activator of transcription-3 (p-Stat3),Akt (P-Akt)and cyclin D1 protein and their significance in angiosarcoma.Methods The expressions of p-Stat3, p-Akt and cyclin D1 protein were measured by ABC immunohistochemical staining in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue sections obtained from 21 cases of angiosarcoma and 15 cases of capillary hemangioma.Results Of 21 cases of angiosarcoma, 15 were positive for p-Stat3, 16 for p-Akt and 11 for cyclin D1, whereas out of 15 cases of capillary hemangioma, 4 were positive for p-Stat3, 2 for p-Akt and 4 for cyclin D1, and there were significant differences in the positivily rates of the three proteins between the tw0o groups(X²=7.30, 5.78, 8.69, respectively, all P<0.05).In angiosarcoma, expression of cyclin D1 positively correlated with that of p-Stat3(r=0.62, P=0.003),but not with that of p-Akt(r=-0.09, P=0.700).Conclusion This study implies that the expression of p-Stat3, p-Akt and cyclin D1 may play a role in the oncogenesis of angiosarcoma.

Key words: Hemangiosarcoma, Hemangioma, capillary, Cyclin D1, Protein kinases