SOX4 expression levels in urothelial bladder carcinoma.

High levels of SOX4 gene expression have been reported in a variety of human cancers. The protein may function in the apoptosis pathway, leading to cell death as well as to tumorigenesis. The aim of this study was to investigate the levels of SOX4 expression in bladder cancer. Urinary bladder tumor samples were obtained from 57 bladder cancer and 13 normal bladder biopsies. The levels of SOX4 expression in bladder cancer were determined by immunohistochemistry and real-time PCR. SOX4 gene expression was increased 2.2 times in bladder tumors as compared with normal tissue. The presence of protein was confirmed by immunostaining. There were significant differences between immunostaining of bladder tumors and normal bladder tissue (P=0.001). The present data suggest that SOX4 gene may have a role in bladder cancer tumorigenesis.