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Detection of messenger RNA for the β‐subunit of chorionic gonadotropin in urinary cells from patients with transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder by reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction
Author(s) -
Hotakainen Kristina,
Lintula Susanna,
Stenman Jakob,
Rintala Erkki,
Lindell Ossi,
Stenman UlfHåkan
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
international journal of cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.475
H-Index - 234
eISSN - 1097-0215
pISSN - 0020-7136
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0215(19990621)84:3<304::aid-ijc18>3.0.co;2-b
Subject(s) - bladder cancer , urinary system , urinary bladder , reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction , urine , pathology , messenger rna , cancer , medicine , human chorionic gonadotropin , carcinoma , biology , urology , andrology , hormone , biochemistry , gene
We studied whether detection of messenger‐RNA (mRNA) for the beta‐subunit of chorionic gonadotropin (CGβ) in urinary cells from bladder cancer patients could be used as a marker of disease activity. Sixty‐eight urine samples from patients under follow‐up for bladder cancer and 23 samples from patients with other malignancies and non‐malignant surgical conditions, as well as 14 samples from healthy controls were analyzed. RNA was isolated from urinary cells collected by centrifugation. Reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) was used to detect CGβ mRNA. The results were compared to those obtained by cystoscopy and urinary cytology. For comparison, we determined CG and CGβ in serum and urine and the core fragment of CGβ (CGβcf) in urine by immunofluorometric assays. CGβ mRNA was detected in 29 of 68 urine samples from patients with a history of bladder cancer, whereas all 14 samples from healthy controls tested negative. Elevated levels of CGβ were observed in serum in 18 of 45 bladder cancer patients, but the association with CGβ mRNA was weak. However, CGβ mRNA expression in the absence of detectable cancer also occurred in some conditions associated with cellular atypia such as urinary tract infection, instrumentation and certain therapies. There was a highly significant association between histologically verified transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder and CGβ mRNA in urine ( p = 0.0014), implying CGβ mRNA expression in tumor tissue. We conclude that CGβ mRNA is a potential new marker for monitoring of bladder cancer. Further studies are needed to evaluate whether it provides independent clinical information. Int. J. Cancer (Pred. Oncol.) 84:304–308, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.