Loss of periplakin expression is associated with pathological stage and cancerspecific survival in patients with urothelial carcinoma of the urinary bladder

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine periplakin expression in normal urothelium and bladdercancer tissues and the relationship to clinicopathological findings. Immunohistochemical stainingfor periplakin was carried out in 92 archival radical cystectomy specimens, with immunoreactivitybeing stratified on a 0–6 scale. Immunohistochemical staining for periplakin was shown to be significantlylower in bladder cancer tissues compared to non-cancerous tissues including inflammation,hyperplasia and normal urothelium. Loss of periplakin expression was associated withpathological stage (P = 0.04). In multivariate Cox regression analysis, loss of periplakin expressionand positive lymph node status were independent prognostic factors for cancer-specific survival(P = 0.03 and 0.015; odds ratio = 2.29 and 2.66; 95% confidence interval = 1.085–4.814 and1.214–5.845, respectively). This new molecular marker may aid in identifying and selecting bladdercancer patients undergoing radical cystectomy who may potentially benefit from neoadjuvantor adjuvant therapy.