Carbohydrate changes in bladder carcinomas.

The cloning of glycosyltransferases is a major breakthrough in the study of glycosylation in normal an malignant tissue. In bladder tumours we need a molecular explanation for the changes observed in especially Gal alpha 1-3 and GalNac alpha 1-3 transferase activity. Studies of the events (transcription/translation) taking place in the different cell layers would also be of importance, especially if the cells could be sorted layer by layer. The urine is a source of malignant cells, and could be a target for diagnosis as well as monitoring. Studies of urinary tumour-associated glycoconjugates or tumour-associated rearrangements in glycosyltransferase genes in exfoliated cells would be of great interest.