Prognostic significance of heat shock proteins in urothelial carcinoma of the urinary bladder - Abstract

AIMS: Heat shock proteins (HSPs) are a group of molecules induced by a variety of environmental and pathophysiological stresses, including cancer.

The expression of HSPs has been implicated in the regulation of apoptosis and immunity in neoplasia. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the expression and clinicopathological relevance of several HSPs in urothelial carcinomas of the urinary bladder.

METHODS AND RESULTS: Immunohistochemical staining for HSP27, HSP60, HSP70 and HSP90 was performed on samples collected from 744 clinical cases. The results were correlated with clinicopathological characteristics using univariate and multivariate analyses. High expression of HSP70 predicted recurrence of non-muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma treated by transurethral resection, and low expression of HSP27 correlated with progression and cancer-specific mortality for non-muscle-invasive cancers treated by transurethral resection. Low expression of HSP27 also predicted cancer-specific mortality for patients who underwent cystectomy.

CONCLUSIONS: Both HSP27 and HSP70 impact on the biological behaviour of urothelial carcinomas of the urinary bladder. Immunohistochemical assessment of HSPs can provide useful prognostic information that could ultimately help to develop individualized surveillance programmes.

Written by:
Yu HJ, Chang YH, Pan CC.   Are you the author?
Department of Pathology, Cardinal Tien Hospital and School of Medicine, Fu-Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City, Taiwan.

Reference: Histopathology. 2013 Apr;62(5):788-98.
doi: 10.1111/his.12087


PubMed Abstract
PMID: 23425286

UroToday.com Investigative Urology Section