E Lee1, I Park, C Lee. 1. Department of Urology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Korea.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Prediction of a response to intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) therapy for bladder cancer is clinically important. We determined whether several molecular markers have prognostic value in intravesical BCG therapy for multiple, high-grade, stage T1 bladder cancers. METHODS: The expressions of p53 (clone D07), bcl-2 (100-D5), cathepsin-D (C5), c-myc(9E11), c-erbB-2 (CB11) and Ki-67 (MM1) were determined by immunohistochemistry in paraffin-embedded tissues from 32 multiple, T1, grade II-III bladder cancer patients (15 BCG responders, 17 nonresponders) who had undergone a single course of BCG therapy (Pasteur strain, 5 x 10(8) CFU weekly for 6 weeks) after complete removal of the tumors. The association between the expression of these markers and the response to BCG was assessed by univariate and multivariate analyses. RESULTS: There was no difference in patient and tumor characteristics between the 2 groups. Using multivariate analysis, the only useful marker was p53, with the overexpression of the p53 protein inversely related to the response to BCG therapy (P = 0.0182). CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that the status of p53 expression offers significant clinical information and may be a useful tool in the selection of suitable candidates for BCG therapy in multiple, high-grade stage T1 bladder cancer patients.
BACKGROUND: Prediction of a response to intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) therapy for bladder cancer is clinically important. We determined whether several molecular markers have prognostic value in intravesical BCG therapy for multiple, high-grade, stage T1 bladder cancers. METHODS: The expressions of p53 (clone D07), bcl-2 (100-D5), cathepsin-D (C5), c-myc(9E11), c-erbB-2 (CB11) and Ki-67 (MM1) were determined by immunohistochemistry in paraffin-embedded tissues from 32 multiple, T1, grade II-III bladder cancerpatients (15 BCG responders, 17 nonresponders) who had undergone a single course of BCG therapy (Pasteur strain, 5 x 10(8) CFU weekly for 6 weeks) after complete removal of the tumors. The association between the expression of these markers and the response to BCG was assessed by univariate and multivariate analyses. RESULTS: There was no difference in patient and tumor characteristics between the 2 groups. Using multivariate analysis, the only useful marker was p53, with the overexpression of the p53 protein inversely related to the response to BCG therapy (P = 0.0182). CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that the status of p53 expression offers significant clinical information and may be a useful tool in the selection of suitable candidates for BCG therapy in multiple, high-grade stage T1 bladder cancerpatients.