Expression of pS2 protein in transitional cell bladder tumours

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Abstract
A series of 201 bladder cancer biopsy specimens was analysed immunohistochemically for the expression of pS2 protein. Altogether, 61 per cent of the tumours were pS2‐negative; in 16 per cent less than 1 per cent and in 23 per cent of cases more than 1 per cent of cells were pS2‐positive. Normal transitional epithelium was negative for pS2. The fraction of positive cells was higher in poorly differentiated non‐papillary tumours and in invasive tumours with pelvic lymph‐node (P=0.05) and distant metastasis (P=0.10). pS2 expression was not related to sex, while patients aged 60–70 years had low fractions of pS2‐positive cells (P=0.03). DNA ploidy, S‐phase fraction, mitotic index, morphometric nuclear features, and expression of c‐erbB‐2, p53, and epidermal growth factor receptor were independent of expression of pS2. Tumours expressing pS2 in over 10 per cent of cells had a lower survival probability (P=0.0486). The results show that pS2 is expressed in 40 per cent of transitional cell bladder tumours, but that this marker has no clinical significance over established prognostic factors.