Nestin is an independent predictor of cancer-specific survival after radical cystectomy in patients with urothelial carcinoma of the bladder.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the association between the expression of nestin, a class VI intermediate filament protein, and pathologic features or survival in patients with urothelial carcinoma of the bladder (UCB).


METHODS
Nestin expression in tumor cells was immunohistochemically studied in 93 patients with UCB who underwent radical cystectomy with pelvic lymphadenectomy. The associations with clinicopathologic parameters were evaluated. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate the effect of nestin expression on survival.


RESULTS
Nestin expression in cystectomy specimens was observed in 13 of 93 patients (14.0%). Nestin expression was associated with pathologic tumor stage (p = 0.006). Nestin-negative patients had better overall survival compared with nestin-positive patients (log-rank p = 0.0148). Univariable analysis indicated that nestin expression, lymphovascular invasion, and lymph node status were significantly associated with cancer-specific survival (hazard ratios, 2.78, 2.15, and 2.80, respectively). On multivariable analysis, nestin expression and lymph node status were independent prognostic factors in cancer-specific survival (hazard ratios, 2.45 and 2.65, respectively).


CONCLUSIONS
The results suggest that nestin expression is a novel independent prognostic indicator for patients with UCB and a potentially useful marker to select patients who may be candidates for adjuvant chemotherapy.
Department of Urology, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan.
Ken-ichi
K
Tabata
Department of Urology, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan.
Kazumasa
K
Matsumoto
Department of Applied Tumor Pathology, Kitasato University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kanagawa, Japan.
Sho
S
Minami
Department of Urology, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan.
Daisuke
D
Ishii
Department of Urology, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan.
Morihiro
M
Nishi
Department of Urology, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan.
Tetsuo
T
Fujita
Department of Pathology, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan.
Makoto
M
Saegusa
Department of Applied Tumor Pathology, Kitasato University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kanagawa, Japan.
Yuichi
Y
Sato
Department of Urology, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan.
Masatsugu
M
Iwamura
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015653:Cystectomy; D005260:Female; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D064231:Nestin / Q000378:metabolism*; D011379:Prognosis; D016019:Survival Analysis; D001749:Urinary Bladder Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000601:surgery*; D019459:Urothelium
D064231:Nestin