title: Expression of OCT4A: the first step to the next stage of urothelial bladder cancer progression.
abstract: OCT4 (octamer-binding transcription factor) is a transcription factor responsible for maintaining the pluripotent properties of embryonic stem cells. In this paper, we present the results of studies to investigate the role of the OCT4 splicing variant in urothelial bladder cancer and the relationship between the OCT4 phenotype and the morphological parameters of tumor malignancy. Ninety patients who received a cystectomy for bladder cancer were enrolled. The expression of OCT4 protein was analyzed by immunohistochemistry. The ratio of OCT4-positive cells was the lowest in pT1 (pathological assessment (p)--tumor extent confined to mucosa (T1)) tumors and the highest in pTis (non-papillary tumor extent confined to urothelium) and pT2 (tumor extent including muscularis propria) tumors. Information about the percentage of OCT4A-positive tumor cells could facilitate choosing the treatment mode in borderline pTis-pT1 (crossing the border of the basement membrane; the first stage of progression) and pT1-pT2 (crossing the border of the muscularis propria; the second stage of progression) cases: a higher percentage of OCT4A-positive cells should support more radical therapy. A significantly higher percentage of cases with moderate OCT4 intensity was found in metastasizing (the third stage of progression) cases with >2 positive lymph nodes. The percentage of OCT4-positive cells was significantly higher for cancers with a high grade, higher non-classic differentiation number and greater aggressiveness of invasion. The differentiation, maturation and aggressiveness of tumor invasion appear to depend on the expression of the OCT4 phenotype in cancer cells, similar to the successive stages of malignancy progression in urothelial cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Tumor Pathology and Pathomorphology, the Ludwik Rydygier Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Romanowska Street 2, Bydgoszcz 85-796, Poland. jozwickiw@co.bydgoszcz.pl.
authors.forename: Wojciech
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Jóźwicki
authors.affiliation: Department of Tumor Pathology and Pathomorphology, the Ludwik Rydygier Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Romanowska Street 2, Bydgoszcz 85-796, Poland. anna.brozyna@cm.umk.pl.
authors.forename: Anna A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Brożyna
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, the Franciszek Łukaszczyk Oncology Centre, Romanowska Street 2, Bydgoszcz 85-796, Poland,. siekieraj@co.bydgoszcz.pl.
authors.forename: Jerzy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Siekiera
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D050814:Octamer Transcription Factor-3 / Q000378:metabolism*; D001749:Urinary Bladder Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D019459:Urothelium / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D050814:Octamer Transcription Factor-3; C494173:POU5F1 protein, human