The sex hormone receptors in the bladder in childhood - I: preliminary report in male subjects.

The sex hormone receptors (oestrogen, androgen, progesterone) in the bladder were demonstrated in clinical studies by various authors in adult patients. But the presence of these receptors in childhood had not been investigated. The aim of this study was to assess the presence of sex hormone receptors in the bladder of male subjects in childhood. The study included 20 bladder biopsies from a total of 15 children. Biopsies were taken during open surgery and/or cystoscopic procedures for various indications from the bladder dome, trigonum and in the region of the bladder neck. All biopsies were routinely fixed and processed for histopathological assessment and investigated immunohistochemically to determine the sex hormone receptors in the bladder. The sex hormone receptors were demonstrated with different densities and locations. In particular, sex hormone receptors were found very frequently in biopsies taken from the bladder neck. Overall receptor positivity in the specimens was 90 % for progesterone, 65 % for androgen and 25 % for oestrogen. There was no receptor expression in the deeper tissues of the bladder wall. This preliminary study demonstrated: 1. Sex hormone receptors are present in children; 2. There was a female sex hormone (progesterone, oestrogen) receptor expression in male subjects; 3. The receptors are mainly localised at the bladder neck and in transitional epithelium of the bladder wall. We think that the sex hormone receptor map may be useful in the evaluation of lower urinary tract and specially bladder neck disorders in childhood in the future.