Decreased expression of galectin-3 predicts tumour recurrence in pTa bladder cancer

  • Authors:
    • Mario Wolfgang Kramer
    • Markus Antonius Kuczyk
    • Jörg Hennenlotter
    • Jürgen Serth
    • David Schilling
    • Arnulf Stenzl
    • Axel Stuart Merseburger
  • View Affiliations

  • Published online on: December 1, 2008     https://doi.org/10.3892/or_00000159
  • Pages: 1403-1408
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Abstract

Galectin-3 (gal-3) is a glycoprotein involved in various physiological cellular processes. Altered expression/loss of function of gal-3 is suggested to be involved in the pathogenesis and further progression of various human cancer entities. The aim of the present investigation was to elucidate the role of galectin-3 in the development and/or progression of non-muscle invasive (pTa, pT1) transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) of the urinary bladder. Gal-3 was analyzed by immunohistochemistry in 162 randomly selected non-muscle invasive bladder cancer specimens (pTa, 91; pT1, 71) using tissue microarray technique. It was compared with various patient and tumour characteristics (t-test). In addition, the role of gal-3 in association with tumour recurrence and progression was investigated (Log-rank test, Cox regression analysis). Gal-3 was found to be negatively correlated with tumour grade (p<0.02). Within the group of non-muscle invasive TCC, gal-3 could not differentiate between pTa and pT1 tumours (p=0.50), and within the subgroup of pTa tumours, loss of gal-3 determined the likelihood for the development of recurrent disease (p<0.03; Student's t-test). Furthermore, as demonstrated by Kaplan-Meier analysis, the expression level of gal-3 was identified to predict the duration of recurrence-free survival (p=0.01). In the multivariate analysis, gal-3 was found as an independent prognostic marker for predicting recurrence among the cohort of bladder tumours classified as pTa. In conclusion, loss of galectin-3 appears to be involved in the carcinogenesis of TCC and to serve as a valuable biological variable to identify a subgroup of Ta bladder cancer patients at high risk for the development of recurrent disease.

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December 2008
Volume 20 Issue 6

Print ISSN: 1021-335X
Online ISSN:1791-2431

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Spandidos Publications style
Kramer MW, Kuczyk MA, Hennenlotter J, Serth J, Schilling D, Stenzl A and Merseburger AS: Decreased expression of galectin-3 predicts tumour recurrence in pTa bladder cancer. Oncol Rep 20: 1403-1408, 2008
APA
Kramer, M.W., Kuczyk, M.A., Hennenlotter, J., Serth, J., Schilling, D., Stenzl, A., & Merseburger, A.S. (2008). Decreased expression of galectin-3 predicts tumour recurrence in pTa bladder cancer. Oncology Reports, 20, 1403-1408. https://doi.org/10.3892/or_00000159
MLA
Kramer, M. W., Kuczyk, M. A., Hennenlotter, J., Serth, J., Schilling, D., Stenzl, A., Merseburger, A. S."Decreased expression of galectin-3 predicts tumour recurrence in pTa bladder cancer". Oncology Reports 20.6 (2008): 1403-1408.
Chicago
Kramer, M. W., Kuczyk, M. A., Hennenlotter, J., Serth, J., Schilling, D., Stenzl, A., Merseburger, A. S."Decreased expression of galectin-3 predicts tumour recurrence in pTa bladder cancer". Oncology Reports 20, no. 6 (2008): 1403-1408. https://doi.org/10.3892/or_00000159