EN
The aim of this study was to determine the vascularisation level in malignant tumours of the oral cavity. The studied material comprised 10 samples of neoplastic tissue extracted from dogs with a suspicion of oral cavity carcinoma. The samples were collected from nine male and one female dogs of various breeds, aged between 6 and 16 years. The tumours were located within the areas of mandibular and maxillary gingiva. Tumour specimens were preserved in 10% buffered formalin for 24 h, embedded in paraffin, and then sections stained with haematoxylin and eosin were prepared. Tumour type was diagnosed according to the official WHO classification. In order to render the vascular endothelium visible, immunohistochemical staining was performed with the use of the polyclonal antibody against von Willebrand factor F VIII and DAKO EnVision system. In the quantitative analysis of the blood vessels displaying the FVIII factor expansion, a system of computer-assisted microscopic analysis was utilised. In ten microscopic fields the vessels were counted and a mean value per 1 mm² was calculated. The largest numbers of blood vessels were observed in squamous cell carcinomas. In the remaining tumours, the vessel count fluctuated between 78-97/mm² (mean 87). The conducted research indicated that angiogenesis in malignant tumours of the oral cavity has potential diagnostic application in determining the malignancy levels of neoplasms.