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Microvessel density as a prognostic marker for transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder
Author(s) -
Hawke,
Delahunt,
* Davidson
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
british journal of urology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.773
H-Index - 148
eISSN - 1464-410X
pISSN - 0007-1331
DOI - 10.1046/j.1464-410x.1998.00585.x
Subject(s) - cystectomy , medicine , vascularity , bladder cancer , biopsy , transitional cell carcinoma , pathology , stage (stratigraphy) , bladder neoplasm , immunohistochemistry , carcinoma , clinical significance , carcinoma in situ , urology , cancer , biology , paleontology
Objective To investigate the prognostic significance of mean vascular density (MVD) in a variety of transitional cell carcinomas (TCC) obtained by biopsy and cystectomy, and thus determine the importance of vascular density as a prognostic indicator for vesical TCC. Patients and methods Tumour vasculature was visualized using factor VIII immunohistochemistry. The MVDs of tumours from 42 cystectomy specimens were correlated with patient survival over a maximum follow‐up of 156 months. The results were also compared with those obtained from initial bladder biopsy in a subset of 29 patients. Results Twenty‐five patients had died over a mean follow‐up of 32 months. The MVDs from cystectomy specimens ranged from 29 to 229 vessels per medium‐power field (0.94 mm 2 ) while that for biopsies before cystectomy ranged from 51 to 155 vessels. The MVD for both cystectomy and biopsy specimens showed a significant association with survival, but this was absent in a multivariate analysis that included tumour stage and grade, and there was a poor correlation between the MVD of cystectomy‐ and biopsy‐derived tumours. Conclusion The assessment of tumour vascularity appears to be of little clinical importance for vesical TCC.