Department of Pathology, Kure-Kyosai Hospital, Federation of National Public Service Personnel Mutual Aid Associations, Hiroshima, Japan.
Department of Urology, Hiroshima University Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan.
Virchows Arch. 2022 Mar;480(3):621-633. doi: 10.1007/s00428-021-03239-7. Epub 2021 Nov 29.
We previously reported that claspin is a key regulator in the progression of gastric cancer and renal cell carcinoma. However, the clinicopathological significance of claspin in urothelial carcinoma (UC) has not been investigated. We analyzed the expression and distribution of claspin in UC cases by immunohistochemistry. In the non-neoplastic urothelium, the expression of claspin was either weak or absent, whereas UC tissues showed nuclear staining. The expression of claspin was detected in 58 (42%) of a total of 138 upper tract UC cases treated by radical nephroureterectomy without neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Claspin-positive UC cases were associated with nodular/flat morphology, variant histology, high tumor grade, high pathological T grade, and lymphatic and venous invasion. The expression of claspin was significantly associated with decreased progression-free survival and cancer-specific survival. In addition, claspin was co-expressed with Ki-67, PD-L1, HER2, EGFR, and p53 in consecutive tumor sections of UC. An immunohistochemical analysis of claspin in biopsy specimens revealed that strong to moderate claspin staining was more frequently observed in carcinoma in situ in comparison to dysplasia or the benign urothelium. Furthermore, immunocytochemistry for claspin on urine cytology slides demonstrated that the proportion of claspin-positive cells was significantly greater in high-grade UC than in benign cases. These results suggest that claspin may be a novel prognostic marker and a possible therapeutic target molecule for UC. Moreover, claspin could be a useful diagnostic biomarker of urothelial neoplasia.
我们之前报道过, claspin 是胃癌和肾细胞癌进展的关键调节因子。然而,claspin 在尿路上皮癌(UC)中的临床病理意义尚未被研究过。我们通过免疫组织化学分析了 UC 病例中 claspin 的表达和分布。在非肿瘤性尿路上皮中,claspin 的表达较弱或不存在,而 UC 组织则表现为核染色。在总共 138 例接受根治性肾输尿管切除术治疗且未接受新辅助化疗的上尿路 UC 病例中,检测到 58 例(42%)存在 claspin 表达。Claspin 阳性的 UC 病例与结节/扁平形态、变异组织学、高肿瘤分级、高病理 T 分级以及淋巴和静脉侵犯有关。Claspin 的表达与无进展生存期和癌症特异性生存期缩短显著相关。此外,在 UC 的连续肿瘤切片中,claspin 与 Ki-67、PD-L1、HER2、EGFR 和 p53 共表达。在活检标本中对 claspin 的免疫组织化学分析显示,与发育不良或良性尿路上皮相比,原位癌中更常观察到强至中度的 claspin 染色。此外,尿细胞学幻灯片上的 claspin 免疫细胞化学显示,高级别 UC 中 claspin 阳性细胞的比例明显高于良性病例。这些结果表明,claspin 可能是 UC 的一种新的预后标志物和潜在的治疗靶点分子。此外,claspin 可能是尿路上皮肿瘤的有用诊断生物标志物。