Evaluation of cellular transformation and tumor aggressiveness factor expression in urinary bladder lesions and transitional cell carcinoma special variants in relation to bilharziasis

Background Identification of molecular factors as diagnostic and prognostic indicators, as well as targets, for better therapy is a high priority. Human epidermal receptors constitute a family of receptor tyrosine kinases, which appear to be implicated in cellular transformation and can be overexpressed in a variety of solid tumors. Moreover, there has been a progressive interest in the expression of CD44 as a marker of tumor aggressiveness and metastatic potential in some human cancers. Hypothesis A variety of urinary bladder lesions and urothelial neoplasms are associated with alterations in epithelial growth factor receptor (EGFR) and CD44 gene and protein expression. Studying these factors using immunohistochemical methods and selectively using fluorescent in-situ hybridization (FISH) technique may give an idea of the influence of bilharziasis upon induction and progression of these lesions. Patients and methods Biopsies from 150 patients with urinary bladder lesions were subjected to histopathological examination, immunohistochemical detection of EEGF and CD44, and gene expression of EGFR using the FISH technique. Results Malignant urothelial lesions showed a higher percentage of cellular positivity and scores for both markers compared with control and cystitis cases (P
Source: Egyptian Journal of Pathology - Category: Pathology Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research