A, B, H antigens in transitional cell tumors of the urinary bladder: correlation with the clinical course.

The A, B, H blood group antigens can be detected in normal transitional epithelium of the urinary bladder by the red cell adherence (RCA) test. We examined the possibility that the reactivity for these antigens is lost or decreased in transitional cell carcinomas and that such a change may reflect the future evolution of these tumors. We studied several bladder biopsies from 60 patients who presented with noninvasive transitional cell carcinomas and were followed for at least 5 years or until muscle invasion was histologically demonstrated. Eighty-one percent of patients whose tumors were RCA positive in the initial biopsy did not subsequently develop invasive tumors and 27% of these patients had no recurrences. All 34 patients whose tumors were negative in the initial biopsy experienced recurrences and 62% of them developed invasive lesions. In 81% of patients, the recurrent tumors retained the same pattern of RCA reactivity for blood group antigens on serial biopsies. These results suggest that the presence of readily detectable A, B, B antigens correlates with a favorable prognosis whereas their absence denotes an aggressive potential.