Detection of Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition Markers in High Grade Bladder Cancer and Special Variants of Urothelial Carcinoma

Khalil, Heba; Hammam, Olfat Ali; Kamel, Amira

doi:10.31557/APJCP.2022.23.6.2079

Detection of Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition Markers in High Grade Bladder Cancer and Special Variants of Urothelial Carcinoma

Document Type : Research Articles

Authors

Theodor Bilharz Research Institute, Imbaba, Giza, Cairo, Egypt.

10.31557/APJCP.2022.23.6.2079

Abstract

Transitional cell carcinoma is considered the most predominant type of bladder cancer. Bladder can cer can also be found as squamous cell carcinoma that accounts for 5% of the total bladder cancer due to its etiology. The biomarkers associated with grade, prognosis, and stage of the disease are not well proved and known however, many studies have pointed to the association between SNAL/SLUG and Twist2 to the overall survival in patients with bladder cancer. These biomarkers were found to have a crucial role in inhibiting cadherin mediators specifically E-cadherin which are found normally in high level to integrate cell adhesion and normal function of the bladder. This research aims to detect SNAL/SLUG and Twist2 biomarkers in specimens of patients with bladder cancer and to detect their impact on E-cadherin, a tumor suppressor mediator responsible for improving survival and prevent metastasis. Materials and Methods: Using 150 archival tissue blocks from human bladder cancer cases to detect expression of SNAIL/SLUG and Twist2 in relation to loss of E-cadherin by immunohistochemical method. Results: Our results have revealed that in squamous cell carcinoma 40 specimens showed marked Twist 2 expression, and 30 specimens showed marked snail/slug biomarkers expression while poorly differentiated cancer cases showed marked expression of Twist 2 in 60 specimens and marked expression of Snail/slug marked expression in 50 specimens. Both were associated with E-cadherin loss. Among the 100 specimens with transitional cell carcinoma, 70 specimens showed divergent differentiation with 7 subtypes each showed different medium to high expression of Snail/Slug and Twist 2 biomarkers with the loss of E-cadherin. E-cadherin was strongly associated with the inverse increase in SNAL/SLUG and Twist2 biomarkers in urothelial carcinoma. Conclusion: Detection of SNAIL/SLUG and Twist 2 biomarkers in urothelial cancer is an important predictor for the loss of E-cadherin, a cornerstone in urinary bladder cell adhesion and its loss in urothelial carcinoma may contribute to cancer invasion and poor prognosis.

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