The prognostic significance of Galectin-3 and P-Selectin in transitional cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder

Abstract

Bladder carcinoma is one of the most common malignancies in
urology. The most common type of the bladder cancer is transitional cell
carcinoma (TCC). TCC of bladder has a recurrence rate of more than 50%.
Therefore, it is important to find some indicators that can predict for
recurrence or the development of metastasis. This study investigates the
prognostic significance of preoperative serum levels of galectin-3 and Pselectin in patients with transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) of the urinary
bladder. Preoperative serum levels of galectin-3 and P-selectin were
measured by ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay). The study
showed that Galectin-3 and P-selectin serum levels were higher in patients
with bladder cancer than in healthy controls. Patients with metastasis had
significantly higher levels of both serum Galectin-3 and P-selectin than
with localized diseases. High levels of serum Galectin-3 and P-selectin
were significantly associated with the clinical tumour stage. However, no
significant difference detected between serum levels of galectin-3 and Pselectin in grade II and grade III TCC subgroups. Also, there is a positive
correlation between serum Galectin-3 and P-selectin in both control and
patient groups. Univariate analysis showed that preoperative serum level
of Galectin-3, P-selectin and clinical stages were indicative for clinical
progression and tumour specific survival. In a multivariate analysis,
clinical stages were an independent prognostic marker for clinical
progression and tumour specific survival. These results indicate that both
serum Galectin-3, P-selectin levels and clinical tumour stages are closely
related to poor prognosis in bladder cancer. So, their levels in bladder
cancer patients may be useful in identifying patients at high risk of tumor
recurrence.

Key words: Galectin-3, P-Selectin, ELISA, Bladder carcinoma.