Introduction: There is a need for prognostic markers which can predict the subset of patients who will not respond sufficiently to conservative management in non-muscle-invasive bladder carcinoma. We analyzed the association of clusterin (CLU) with clinicopathological factors. Materials and Methods: Immunohistochemical CLU expression was investigated in paraffin-embedded archival tissues of initial transurethral resection specimens of 46 patients with non-muscle-invasive bladder carcinoma. The result was expressed as the proportion of the number of CLU-containing tumor cells to the total number of tumor cells detected in each slide and ‘percent CLU expression’ was calculated for each patient. Results: Of the 46 cases (35 male, 11 female), 18 were ≧65 years of age. CLU expression was significantly higher in male and elderly patients. Following the initial transurethral resection, 39 patients showed tumor recurrence, and progression was seen in 25 patients, of whom 17 progressed to muscle invasion during follow-up. Although there was no significant correlation between CLU expression and recurrence, significant correlation with overall progression and progression to muscle-invasive disease was observed in this cohort of patients (p = 0.001 and p = 0.014, respectively). Among the patients with progression to muscle invasion, 13 underwent radical cystectomy with pT2 tumor in 5 patients in the final pathology of surgical specimens and pT3 and higher in the remainder. Conclusions: CLU immunoreactivity showed correlation with age, gender and progression, mainly progression to muscle invasion. Thus, CLU can be used as a molecular marker to predict the potential of progression to muscle-invasive disease in a particular tumor which in turn may prove useful in the decision-making process for early cystectomy without losing time with conservative management.

Keywords:
Bladder carcinoma, Immunohistochemistry, Clusterin, Prognostic factors
This content is only available via PDF.
© 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel
2010
Copyright / Drug Dosage / Disclaimer
Copyright: All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be translated into other languages, reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, microcopying, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Drug Dosage: The authors and the publisher have exerted every effort to ensure that drug selection and dosage set forth in this text are in accord with current recommendations and practice at the time of publication. However, in view of ongoing research, changes in government regulations, and the constant flow of information relating to drug therapy and drug reactions, the reader is urged to check the package insert for each drug for any changes in indications and dosage and for added warnings and precautions. This is particularly important when the recommended agent is a new and/or infrequently employed drug.
Disclaimer: The statements, opinions and data contained in this publication are solely those of the individual authors and contributors and not of the publishers and the editor(s). The appearance of advertisements or/and product references in the publication is not a warranty, endorsement, or approval of the products or services advertised or of their effectiveness, quality or safety. The publisher and the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to persons or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content or advertisements.
You do not currently have access to this content.