title: Decreased galectin-8 is a strong marker for recurrence in urothelial carcinoma of the bladder.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate galectin-8 expression patterns in normal urothelium and bladder cancer specimens and to elucidate its prognostic value.
  
  
  METHODS
  162 samples of non-muscle-invasive transitional cell carcinoma, 25 samples of muscle-invasive transitional cell carcinoma and 10 samples of normal urothelium were investigated by immunohistochemistry using tissue microarrays. Complete patient and tumor characteristics were compared with galectin-8 staining patterns. The likelihood of tumor recurrence and progression was analyzed based on a 3-year follow-up.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Loss of galectin-8 was associated with the likelihood of tumor recurrence in univariate (p < 0.05) and multivariate analyses (p < 0.01). No significance was observed for tumor progression. Patients whose specimens showed weak galectin-8 expression had a shorter recurrence-free interval (42 vs. 12 months; p < 0.01, log-rank test). All of the 10 normal urothelium samples showed high galectin-8 expression. Decreased staining was found to be associated with higher tumor stages and grades (p < 0.0001, one-way ANOVA). A significant difference was found comparing normal urothelium with any tumor stage (p < 0.01), pTa vs. pT1 tumors (p < 0.05) and non-muscle-invasive vs. muscle-invasive tumors (p < 0.0001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Loss of galectin-8 might be an early step in the development of malignant lesions of the bladder and is a significant independent predictor of recurrence.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology and Urologic Oncology, Medical School Hannover, Hannover, Germany.
authors.forename: Mario Wolfgang
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Kramer
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Waalkes
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Serth
authors.forename: Jörg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hennenlotter
authors.forename: Hossein
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tezval
authors.forename: Arnulf
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stenzl
authors.forename: Markus Antonius
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Kuczyk
authors.forename: Axel Stuart
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Merseburger
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology*; D002295:Carcinoma, Transitional Cell / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D037161:Galectins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D011379:Prognosis; D012008:Recurrence; D001749:Urinary Bladder Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology*; D019459:Urothelium / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D037161:Galectins; C091991:LGALS8 protein, human