title: Serum level of galectin-3 in human bladder cancer.
abstract: We examine serum level of galectin-3 in patients with bladder cancer. We used serum samples of 67 patients with urological diseases and classified these patients into bladder cancer group (n=43) and control group (n=24). Galectin-3 concentration was measured by ELISA (Human Galectin-3 Assay Kit, IBL). And we selected the patient with high serum galectin-3 concentration (Urothelial Carcinoma, G3, pT3a pN0M0), we performed immunohistochemical staining with the VECTASTAIN ABC (Avidin Biotinylated enzyme Complex) system. Median value of serum galectin-3 concentration was 1068 pg/ml (range 551-2028) in the cancer group vs 584 pg/ml (range 259-1262) in controls. Serum galectin-3 concentration of the bladder cancer patients was statistically higher than that of controls (p<0.0005). There was no apparent correlation in serum galectin-3 concentration with the clinico-pathological features such as stage and grade. Higher expression of galectin-3 was observed in bladder cancer tissue than in normal bladder tissue. We suggest the measurement of serum galectin-3 is useful for diagnosis of bladder cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Institute of Health Biosciences, The University of Tokushima Graduate School, Tokushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Manabu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sakaki
authors.forename: Natsuo
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Oka
authors.forename: Ryoichi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nakanishi
authors.forename: Kunihisa
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamaguchi
authors.forename: Tomoharu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fukumori
authors.forename: Hiro-Omi
authors.initials: HO
authors.lastname: Kanayama
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D037502:Galectin 3 / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D001749:Urinary Bladder Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D037502:Galectin 3