Expression of VEGF in urinary bladder transitional cell carcinoma in an Iraqi population subjected to depleted uranium: an immunohistochemical study.

The present study aimed to assess the correlation between vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) overexpression and the grade, size, and recurrence of transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) in the south of Iraq, which includes regions that have been exposed to high levels of depleted uranium. The study also sought to evaluate whether there is any biomarker in the expression that could be correlated with the increased incidence of this type of cancer in the exposed areas. Samples of formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissue from 54 patients (41 males and 13 females) with TCC and from 32 patients with benign bladder lesions (cystitis) used as controls were included in this study. The avidin-biotin complex method was used for immunohistochemical detection of VEGF. VEGF immunoexpression was positive in 77.77% of TCC but was not found in benign bladder lesions (cystitis) (P<0.05). VEGF immunostaining was positively correlated with grade, stage, and recurrence of TCC but the findings were not statistically significant (P>0.05). These findings support the role of VEGF in the carcinogenesis of TCC regarding evolution, behavior, and aggressiveness. Hence, VEGF could be considered as a poor prognostic parameter in bladder cancer. No positive correlation between immunohistochemical expression and the high incidence of TCC was detected (R=<0.3). The study further concludes that immunohistochemical expression of the VEGF gene in TCC bladder cancer does not differ from similar cancers found in other parts of the world where there has been no known exposure to depleted uranium.