Dissertation committee:
Ευστράτιος Πατσούρης, Καθηγητής Παθολογικής Ανατομικής, Ε. Κανέλλη-Κουτσελίνη, Αναπληρώτρια Καθηγήτρια Παθολογικής Ανατομικής-Κυτταρολογίας, Πολίτη Αικατερίνη, Επίκουρη Καθηγήτρια Παθολογικής Ανατομικής-Κυτταρολογίας
Summary:
Urothelial bladder cancer is the second most common genitourinary tumor and
constitutes an important cause of morbidity and mortality. It presents a
meaningful heterogeneity in biological behaviour that is not completely
understood. It is well known that two morphologically similar tumors presenting
in any assigned stage may behave in different fashions, a fact that seriously
impedes the potential to accurately predict the clinical outcome in a given
case.
The study group was a sequential eighty specimens (n=100) of primary urothelial
carcinoma of the urinary bladder obtained by transurethral resection or total
cystectomy. All patients were treated and followed at the same institution
between 1998-2004. The cohort of patients in this study was highly selected,
fairly homogenous and treated in a prospective and standardized fashion. The
demographic information, clinical presentation, pathologic stage, and follow-up
were extracted from the medical charts. Tumor grading and staging were
determined according to the principles outlined by World Health Organization
(WHO 2004) and TNM classification of International Union against Cancer (UICC).
The study population consisted of 77 men and 13 women with a mean age of 59
years (range 49-92).
Positive immunostaining for c-myc was seen in 75% of urothelial carcinomas, for
p53 in 26%, for p21WAF/cip1 in 25%, for p27Kip1 in 12%, for Ki-67 in 57% and
for p63 in 41%. Statistically significant correlations were found between
p27Kip1 expression and female patients (p=0,037), p53 positivity and stage
(p=0,037), Ki-67 and high grade tumors (p=0,003) and between p63 and relapse (p
=0,007).
Keywords:
bladder, neoplasms, tumor markers, prognosis, pathogenesis
