Introdução: As moléculas de adesão celular (MAC) participam da interação entre o epitélio e a matriz extracelular (MEC) que são importantes para o desenvolvimento normal da célula. Alguns estudos têm revelado que alterações na expressão das MAC têm implicações no processo de carcinogênese. Nosso objetivo foi estudar a influencia da expressão da E-caderina e cateninas por imuno-histoquímica (IH) na previsão prognóstica de pacientes com carcinoma urotelial do trato urinário superior submetidos à cirurgia. Material e métodos: Avaliamos os espécimes de 20 pacientes com carcinoma urotelial da pelve renal e ureter tratados com nefroureterectomia ou ureterectomia com intenção curativa entre junho de 1997 e janeiro de 2007, todas realizadas pelo mesmo cirurgião (MS). A expressão das MAC foi avaliada através de IH pela técnica de microarranjo tecidual ou tissue microarray (TMA), e correlacionada com as características anatomopatológicas do tumor e sobrevida dos pacientes Resultados: Observamos uma relação entre a expressão de E-caderina com a recidiva da doença. Dos tumores com expressão forte de E-caderina, 85,7% sofreram recidiva contra 50,0% daqueles com moderada expressão (p=0,014). Também houve diferença na sobrevida livre de doença, sendo que aqueles com expressão forte evidenciaram media de sobrevida livre de doença de 49,1 meses, enquanto aqueles com expressão moderada ou ausente sofreram média de 83,9 meses (p=0,011). A ausência de expressão de -catenina se relacionou com maior frequência de tumores com mais de 3cm (p=0,003). Conclusões: Demonstramos que a imuno-expressão da E-caderina e - catenina estão relacionadas com recidiva e tamanho tumoral no carcinoma urotelial do trato urinário alto, podendo constituir novos marcadores prognósticos nessa neoplasia / Introduction: The cell adhesion molecules (CAM) participating in the interaction between epithelium and extracellular matrix (ECM) that are important for normal development of the cell. Some studies have shown that changes in the expression of CAM have implications in the process of carcinogenesis. We studied the E-cadherin and catenins expression profile by immunohistochemistry in patients with urothelial carcinoma of upper urinary tract underwent surgery. Materials and Methods: We evaluated specimens from 20 patients with urothelial carcinoma of renal pelvis and ureter treated with nephroureterectomy or ureterectomy between June 1997 and January 2007, all performed by one surgeon (MS). The expression of CAM was evaluated by tissue microarray technique (TMA). Results: We observed a relation between E-cadherin expression with disease recurrence. Tumors with strong expression of E-cadherin, 85.7% recurrence compared to 50.0% of those with moderate expression and 0.0% with weak expression (p = 0.014). There was also a difference in disease-free survival, and those with strong expression recurrence a median time of 49.1 months while those with moderate expression recurrence a median time of 83.9 months (p = 0.011). The absence of -catenin expression was associated with tumors larger than 3 cm (p = 0.003). Conclusions: We demonstrate that the immuno-expression of E-cadherin and -catenin are related to recurrence and tumor size in urothelial carcinoma of upper urinary tract, may be new prognostic markers in these disease

OBJETIVOS: Estudar variáveis anatomopatológicas relacionadas à progressão tumoral em carcinomas uroteliais primários de bexiga e sua associação com a imunoexpressão de metaloproteinases de matriz (MMPs) - 2, -9 e -14 no epitélio e no estroma dos tumores primários e nas metástases linfonodais. MÉTODOS: Sessenta e um casos de carcinomas uroteliais musculoinvasivos ou localmente avançados primários da bexiga operados no Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da USP e no Instituto do Câncer do Estado de São Paulo, sendo 34 casos com metástase para linfonodo regional, foram caracterizados quanto ao gênero, idade, tamanho, focalidade, grau histológico, tipo/configuração neoplásica, tipo papilífero da neoplasia, padrão arquitetural de invasão tumoral, grau de atipia nuclear, componente sarcomatoide, diferenciações escamosa e glandular, variante histológica, invasões linfovascular e perineural, carcinoma in situ, estádio do tumor primário, metástase para linfonodo regional, tamanho da metástase e extensão extranodal. Amostras teciduais de 1,0 mm foram dispostas em micromatrizes teciduais (TMA) para pesquisa imuno-histoquímica (IH) das enzimas MMP-2, MMP-9 e MMP-14. A expressão IH das MMPs foi graduada em uma escala semiquantitativa de 0 (ausência de expressão) até 20 (maior expressão). As associações entre a imunoexpressão das MMPs de forma global, no epitélio e estroma do tumor primário e na metástase linfonodal com as variáveis anatomopatológicas foram avaliadas através do teste do qui-quadrado de Pearson, sendo consideradas significativas ao nível de p<0,05. RESULTADOS: Trinta e seis, 57 e 60 casos do tumor primário foram positivos para MMP-2, MMP-9 e MMP-14, respectivamente. Nas metástases linfonodais, 20, 27 e 26 casos foram positivos para MMP-2, MMP-9 e MMP-14, respectivamente. A imunoexpressão global de MMP-2 no tumor primário mostrou-se associada com o padrão arquitetural de invasão (p=0,022) e sua expressão no estroma com o grau de atipia nuclear (p=0,032) e a porcentagem de componente sarcomatoide (p=0,003). A imunoexpressão global de MMP-9 no tumor primário mostrou-se associada com diferenciação escamosa (p=0,033). O padrão arquitetural de invasão relacionou-se com a expressão de MMP-9 no epitélio (p=0,043) e no estroma (p=0,044). A expressão de MMP-9 no estroma mostrou-se associada com o grau de atipia nuclear (p=0,031), componente sarcomatoide (p=0,036) e com a porcentagem desse componente no tumor primário (p=0,013). O estádio tumoral agrupado pT2+pT3 vs pT4 demonstrou associação com a MMP-9 expressa no epitélio (p=0,049). Para a MMP-14, o padrão arquitetural de invasão demonstrou associação significativa com a imunoexpressão global (p=0,022) e no epitélio tumoral (p=0,045). A porcentagem de componente sarcomatoide relacionou-se ainda com a expressão estromal de MMP-14 (p<0,001). Considerando a imunoexpressão de MMPs apenas na metástase linfonodal, houve associação significativa da MMP-9 com o tipo de variante histológica do tumor (p=0,021) e da expressão de MMP-14 com a porcentagem de componente sarcomatoide no tumor primário (p=0,017). CONCLUSÃO: O estudo da imunoexpressão de MMP-2, MMP-9 e MMP-14 em amostras organizadas em TMA, tanto no epitélio como no estroma dos carcinomas uroteliais de bexiga e nas metástases de linfonodos regionais, demonstrou associações estatísticas com características anatomopatológicas reconhecidas como de prognóstico ruim para essas neoplasias, indicando a ação dessas enzimas na transição epitélio-mesênquima e nas etapas de progressão e metástase dos carcinomas uroteliais / OBJECTIVES: To study morphological features related to tumor progression in urothelial carcinoma of the urinary bladder and its association with immunohistochemical (IHC) expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) -2, -9 and -14 in epithelial and stromal cells of primary tumor and regional lymph node metastases. METHODS: Sixty-one cases of muscle-invasive or locally advanced urothelial carcinomas of the bladder operated on Clinic\'s Hospital of Faculty Medicine Sao Paulo University and the Cancer Institute of the State of Sao Paulo, with 34 cases showing regional lymph nodes metastases, were characterized regarding gender, age, tumor size, multifocality, histological grade, neoplastic type/configuration, papillary type, architectural pattern of invasive tumor, nuclear atypia, sarcomatoid component, squamous and glandular diffentiation, histological variants, lymphovascular and perineural invasion, carcinoma in situ, tumor stage, metastases to regional lymph nodes, metastases size and extranodal extension. Tissue samples of 1.0 mm were arranged in tissue microarrays blocks (TMA) for IHC detection of MMP-2, MMP-9 and MMP-14. The grading of expression of MMPs was determined to a semiquantitative scale from 0 (absence) to 20 (higher expression). The associations between the IHC global expression of MMPs, in epithelium and in stromal cells of the primary tumor and in the lymph node metastases with the morphological features were obtained through Pearson\'s chi-square (significant at p<0.05). RESULTS: Thirty-six, 57 and 60 cases of primary tumor were positive for MMP-2, MMP-9 and MMP-14 respectively. In the lymph nodes metastases, 20, 27 and 26 cases were positive for MMP-2, MMP-9 and MMP-14 respectively. The global IHC expression of MMP-2 in primary tumor has been associated with the architectural pattern of invasion (p=0.022). The expression in stromal cells were correlated with the degree of nuclear atypia (p=0.032) and the percentage of sarcomatoid component (p=0.003). The IHC expression of MMP-9 in primary tumor has been associated with squamous differentiation (p=0.033). The architectural pattern of invasion was related to the expression of MMP-9 in epithelium (p=0.043) and in the stroma (p=0.044). Expression of MMP-9 in the stroma was associated with the degree of nuclear atypia (p=0.031), sarcomatoid component (p=0.036) and the percentage of this component in primary tumor (p=0.013). The grouped tumoral stage pT2+pT3 vs pT4 showed association with MMP-9 expressed in epithelium (p=0.049). For MMP-14, the architectural pattern of invasion showed significant association with global IHC expression (p=0.022) and tumor epithelium (p=0.045). The percentage of sarcomatoid component related to the estromal expression of MMP-14 (p<0.001). Considering the IHC expression of MMPs in lymph nodes metastases, there was a significant association between MMP-9 with the type of histological variants (p=0.021) and the expression of MMP-14 with the percentage of sarcomatoid component in primary tumor (p=0.017). CONCLUSION: The study of IHC expression of MMP-2, MMP-9 and MMP-14 in bladder carcinoma samples arranged in TMA, both in epithelium and in stromal cells and regional lymph nodes metastases, demonstrated significant association with morphological features recognized as prognostically important for these tumors. These findings herald the importance of action of these enzymes in epithelialmesenchymal transition, providing basis for the understanding of tumoral progression and metastases in urothelial carcinoma

Objectifs: Les données provenant des centres de soins tertiaires suggèrent que le taux de mortalité péri-opératoire (MPO) après cystectomie notés pour les patients âgés (septuagénaires et octogénaires) n’excède pas celle des patients plus jeunes. Toutefois, les données provenant de la communauté démontrent un phénomène inverse. Spécifiquement, la MPO est plus élevés chez les ainés. Dans cette thèse nous allons présenter une réévaluation contemporaine du taux de MPO après cystectomie. Méthodes: Entre 1988 et 2006, 12722 cystectomies radicales pour le carcinome urothéliale de la vessie ont été enregistrées dans la banque de données SEER. Le taux de MPO a été évalué dans les analyses de régression logistique univariées et multivariées à 90 jours après cystectomie radicale. Les covariables incluaient: le sexe, l’ethnie, l’année de chirurgie, la région d’origine du patient ainsi que le grade et le stade de la tumeur. Résultats: Parmi tous les patients, 4480 étaient des septuagénaires (35.2%) et 1439 étaient des octogénaires (11.3%). Le taux de MPO à 90 jours était de 4% pour la cohorte entière vs. 2% pour les patients moins de 69 ans vs. 5.4% pour les septuagénaires vs. 9.2% pour les octogénaires. Dans les analyses de régression logistiques multivariées, les septuagénaires (OR=2.80; <0.001) et les octogénaires (OR=5.02; <0.001) avaient reçu un taux de MPO plus augmenté que les patients moins de 70 ans après une cystectomie radicale. Conclusion: Cette analyse épidémiologique basée sur les donnés le plus contemporaines démontre que l’âge avancée représente un facteur de risque pour un taux de MPO plus élevé. / Objective Data from tertiary care centers suggest that the perioperative mortality (POM) after radical cystectomy (RC) is not different in septuagenarian or octogenarian patients, compared to younger individuals. Conversely, population-based data state otherwise. We revisited this topic in a large contemporary population-based cohort. Methods Between 1988 and 2006, 12722 radical cystectomies were performed for urothelial carcinoma of the urinary bladder (UCUB) in 17 Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) registries. Of those 4480 were aged 70-79 and 1439 were 80 years and older. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression models tested 90-day mortality (90dM) after radical cystectomy. Covariates consisted of gender, race, year of surgery, SEER registry, histological grade and stage. Results Of all 12722 patients, 4480 (35.2%) were septuagenarian and 1439 (11.3%) were octogenarian. The overall 90dM rate was 4% for the entire population, 2% for patients aged 69 years or younger, 5.4% for septuagenarian patients and 9.2% for octogenarian patients. In multivariable logistic regression analyses, septuagenarian (OR= 2.80; <0.001) and octogenarian (OR= 5.02; <0.001) age increased the risk of 90dM after RC. Conclusions In this population-based analysis, POM was between 3 and 5-fold higher respectively in septuagenarian and octogenarian patients which is higher in tertiary care centers. This information needs to be included in informed consent considerations, specifically if RC will not be performed at a tertiary care center.

Introdução: As moléculas de adesão celular (MAC) participam da interação entre o epitélio e a matriz extracelular (MEC) que são importantes para o desenvolvimento normal da célula. Alguns estudos têm revelado que alterações na expressão das MAC têm implicações no processo de carcinogênese. Nosso objetivo foi estudar a influencia da expressão da E-caderina e cateninas por imuno-histoquímica (IH) na previsão prognóstica de pacientes com carcinoma urotelial do trato urinário superior submetidos à cirurgia. Material e métodos: Avaliamos os espécimes de 20 pacientes com carcinoma urotelial da pelve renal e ureter tratados com nefroureterectomia ou ureterectomia com intenção curativa entre junho de 1997 e janeiro de 2007, todas realizadas pelo mesmo cirurgião (MS). A expressão das MAC foi avaliada através de IH pela técnica de microarranjo tecidual ou tissue microarray (TMA), e correlacionada com as características anatomopatológicas do tumor e sobrevida dos pacientes Resultados: Observamos uma relação entre a expressão de E-caderina com a recidiva da doença. Dos tumores com expressão forte de E-caderina, 85,7% sofreram recidiva contra 50,0% daqueles com moderada expressão (p=0,014). Também houve diferença na sobrevida livre de doença, sendo que aqueles com expressão forte evidenciaram media de sobrevida livre de doença de 49,1 meses, enquanto aqueles com expressão moderada ou ausente sofreram média de 83,9 meses (p=0,011). A ausência de expressão de -catenina se relacionou com maior frequência de tumores com mais de 3cm (p=0,003). Conclusões: Demonstramos que a imuno-expressão da E-caderina e - catenina estão relacionadas com recidiva e tamanho tumoral no carcinoma urotelial do trato urinário alto, podendo constituir novos marcadores prognósticos nessa neoplasia / Introduction: The cell adhesion molecules (CAM) participating in the interaction between epithelium and extracellular matrix (ECM) that are important for normal development of the cell. Some studies have shown that changes in the expression of CAM have implications in the process of carcinogenesis. We studied the E-cadherin and catenins expression profile by immunohistochemistry in patients with urothelial carcinoma of upper urinary tract underwent surgery. Materials and Methods: We evaluated specimens from 20 patients with urothelial carcinoma of renal pelvis and ureter treated with nephroureterectomy or ureterectomy between June 1997 and January 2007, all performed by one surgeon (MS). The expression of CAM was evaluated by tissue microarray technique (TMA). Results: We observed a relation between E-cadherin expression with disease recurrence. Tumors with strong expression of E-cadherin, 85.7% recurrence compared to 50.0% of those with moderate expression and 0.0% with weak expression (p = 0.014). There was also a difference in disease-free survival, and those with strong expression recurrence a median time of 49.1 months while those with moderate expression recurrence a median time of 83.9 months (p = 0.011). The absence of -catenin expression was associated with tumors larger than 3 cm (p = 0.003). Conclusions: We demonstrate that the immuno-expression of E-cadherin and -catenin are related to recurrence and tumor size in urothelial carcinoma of upper urinary tract, may be new prognostic markers in these disease

Sur la seule base de critères cliniques et anatomopathologiques, l’évolution des tumeurs superficielles de la vessie (TSV) est imprévisible. Aucun marqueur ne permet, à ce jour, l’identification des tumeurs à fort potentiel de récidive et d’évolution vers des formes agressives. Dans une première partie, nous avons étudié, chez 127 patients, le polymorphisme des microsatellites dans les cellules urinaires pour la mise en évidence de pertes d'hétérozygotie (LOH, Loss Of Heterozygosity) et 2- en tant que marqueur de suivi. Les résultats ont été comparés à la cytologie urinaire : la sensibilité des LOH est nettement supérieure à celle de la cytologie dans les TSV. La présence de LOH au niveau de TP53 et des marqueurs du chromosome 9p est associée à un risque accru de récidive. Parmi les patients ayant récidivé, l’étude des LOH était positive dans 78% des prélèvements urinaires. Dans 20% des cas, les LOH se sont positivées avant la récidive visible à la cystoscopie. Dans une deuxième partie, nous avons développé une technique urinaire quantitative rapide pour l’étude des profils de méthylation de promoteur de 5 gènes suppresseurs de tumeur. Les résultats prometteurs (sensibilité=62%) de la qPCR-HRM sont corrélés à la technique de référence et pourraient être améliorés en élargissant le panel de gènes étudiés. L’analyse des altérations génétiques et épigénétiques améliore la compréhension des mécanismes de la carcinogenèse dans les carcinomes urothéliaux. Ces altérations pourraient être utilisées comme marqueurs diagnostiques et pronostiques. La biologie moléculaire pourrait trouver toute sa place dans la prise en charge de cette pathologie. / On the basis of clinical and pathological criteria, the evolution of superficial bladder tumours (SBT) is unpredictable. Currently, no marker exists permitting the identification of tumours with high potential for recurrence and progression to more aggressive forms. Firstly, we looked for loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at microsatellite polymorphisms in the bladder cells of 127 patients, with the aim of identifying a marker potentially useful in 1) diagnosis and prognosis and 2) the monitoring of patients following trans-urethral resection. Compared to urine cytology, the sensitivity of LOH detection was significantly higher for SBT. The presence of LOH at TP53 and markers of chromosome 9p was associated with an increased risk of recurrence. Among the patients who relapsed, results of LOH analysis were positive in 78% of urine samples, 20% of which were positive before the relapse was detected by cystoscopy. Secondly, we developed a technique for the rapid and quantitative urinary analysis of patterns of promoter methylation of 5 tumour suppressor genes. The promising results (sensitivity of 62%) of the qPCR-HRM correlate well with the gold standard and could be improved by expanding the panel of genes studied. Analysis of genetic and epigenetic alterations improves the understanding of mechanisms of carcinogenesis in urothelial carcinomas. These alterations could be used as diagnostic and prognostic markers. Molecular biology could therefore prove useful in the management of this pathology.

OBJETIVOS: Avaliar características clínico-patológicas com ênfase na presença de variantes histológicas (VH) nos carcinomas uroteliais da bexiga e nas metástases linfonodais (ML). Caracterizar perfis imuno-histoquímicos relacionados aos subtipos moleculares e verificar suas associações clínico-patológicas. MÉTODOS: 183 carcinomas uroteliais de alto grau músculo-invasivos submetidos a cistectomia radical no Instituto do Câncer do Estado de São Paulo, HCFMUSP ou Hospital Alemão Oswaldo Cruz foram caracterizados quanto ao gênero, idade, tamanho, focalidade, configuração neoplásica, necrose, invasões angiolinfática e perineural, VH, carcinoma in situ, infiltrado inflamatório peri e intratumoral, estádio, margem cirúrgica, ML e VH na metástase. Resultados semi-quantitativos da pesquisa imuno-histoquímica (IH) de CK20 e GATA3 (associados ao subtipo luminal) e CK5, SALL4 e Vimentina (associados ao subtipo basal), que foi realizada em micromatrizes teciduais com abundante representação do tumor primário e das ML, tiveram valor de corte de 20%, definindo os casos em positivos e negativos. Casos negativos para CK20 ou GATA3 e positivos para CK5 foram agrupados no subtipo basal; casos positivos para CK20 ou GATA3 e negativos para CK5 agrupados no subtipo luminal e casos duplo positivos ou duplo negativos agrupados no subtipo indeterminado. As associações entre estes subtipos e as características clínico-patológicas foram realizadas através de testes qui-quadrado ou exato de Fisher para as variáveis categóricas. A comparação dos subtipos obtidos no centro do tumor e na ML foi realizada com testes de McNemar-Bowker e concordância pelo coeficiente Kappa. A análise de sobrevida foi realizada pelo método Kaplan-Meier e testes de Breslow. RESULTADOS: VH foram observadas em 116 (63,4%) casos e associadas a invasão linfovascular (p=0,043), VH na metástase (p < 0,001), pior sobrevida global (p=0,043). Havia 14 diferentes VH, a escamosa, mais comum, foi associada a tumores maiores (p=0,003); necrose (p=0,004); VH sarcomatoide (p=0,047), VH na metástase (p=0,003), sem impacto nas sobrevidas. VH micropapilífera, segunda mais observada, foi associada a invasão linfovascular (p=0,002); margem cirúrgica positiva (p=0,005); metástase linfonodal (p < 0,001), VH na metástase (p=0,007) e piores sobrevidas doença específica (p=0,016) e global (p=0,005). VHs foram observadas em 40,7% das metástases linfonodais, com apenas um caso discordante das VH observadas no tumor vesical. Nos dois perfis IH estabelecidos não houve impacto nas sobrevidas e o subtipo basal foi associado a tumores maiores (CK5/CK20 p=0,025; CK5/GATA3 p=0,006) e a variante escamosa (CK5/CK20 e CK5/GATA3 p < 0,001) e o subtipo luminal foi associado a variantes micropapilífera (CK5/CK20 e CK5/GATA3 p < 0,001) e plasmocitoide (CK5/CK20 p=0,003; CK5/GATA3 p=0,011). Foi moderado o grau de concordância do subtipo observado no centro comparado ao observado na ML (CK5/CK20 Kappa=0,57; CK5/GATA3 Kappa=0,48). CONCLUSÕES: A presença de VH nos carcinomas uroteliais da bexiga, além de acarretar heterogeneidade intratumoral, foi associada a características clínico-patológicas de agressividade, com impacto na sobrevida, sobretudo na variante micropapilífera. O perfil IH basal foi associado a tumores maiores com variante escamosa e o perfil IH luminal foi associado às variantes micropapilífera e plasmocitoide. Os perfis IHs não diferiram quanto às sobrevidas e houve moderada concordância com os perfis observados nas ML / OBJETIVES: Evaluate clinicopathological features emphasizing the presence of histological variants (HV) in bladder urothelial carcinomas and their lymph node metastasis (LNM). Characterize immunohistochemical profiles related to molecular subtypes and verify their clinicopathological associations. METHODS: 183 high-grade muscle-invasive urothelial carcinomas undergoing radical cystectomy at Instituto do Câncer do Estado de São Paulo, HCFMUSP or Hospital Alemão Oswaldo Cruz were classified according to gender, age, size, focality, neoplastic configuration, necrosis, lymphovascular and perineural invasion, HV, carcinoma in situ, peritumoral and intratumoral inflammatory infiltrate, stage, surgical margin, LNM and HV in metastasis. Semi-quantitative results of the immuhistochemical (IHC) studies for CK20 and GATA3 (associated with the luminal subtype) and CK5, SALL4 and Vimentin (associated with basal subtype), which were performed in tissue microarrays with abundant representation of the primary tumor and LNM, had a cutoff value of 20%, dividing cases into positive and negative. Negative cases for CK20 or GATA3 and positive for CK5 were grouped into the basal subtype; positive cases for CK20 or GATA3 and negative for CK5 were grouped into luminal subtype and double positive or double negative cases were grouped into the undetermined subtype. The associations between these subtypes and clinicopathological features were performed using chi-square or Fisher´s exact tests for the categorical variables. Comparison of the subtype obtained at the center of the tumor and LNM was performed using McNemar-Bowker test and agreement with Kappa coefficient. Survival analysis was performed using Kaplan-Meier method and Breslow tests. RESULTS: HV were observed in 116 (63.4%) cases and associated with lymphovascular invasion (p=0.043); HV in metastasis (p < 0.001), worse overall survival (p=0.043). There were 14 different HV, and squamous variant, the most common, was associated with larger tumors (p=0.003); necrosis (p=0.004), sarcomatoid variant (p=0,047), HV in metastasis (p=0.003), with no impact on survival. Micropapillary variant, the second most observed, was associated with lymphovascular invasion (p=0.002); positive surgical margin (p=0.005); LNM (p < 0.001); HV in metastasis (p=0.007) and worse disease-specific (p=0.016) an overall survival (p=0.005). HV were observed in 40.7% of the LNM, and only one case was discordant with HV observed in the bladder tumor. In both IHC profiles there was no impact on survival, and the basal subtype was associated with larger tumors (CK5/CK20 p=0.025; CK5/GATA3 p=0.006) and squamous variant (CK5/CK20 and CK5/GATA3 p < 0.001). Luminal subtype was associated with micropapillary variant (CK5/CK20 and CK5/GATA3 p < 0.001) and plasmacytoid variant (CK5/CK20 p=0.003; CK5/GATA3 p=0.011). There was moderate agreement between the subtype observed in the tumor center compared to that observed in LNM (CK5/CK20 Kappa=0.57; CK5/GATA3 Kappa=0.48). CONCLUSIONS: The presence of HV in bladder urothelial carcinomas, in addition to cause intratumoral heterogeneity, was associated with clinical and pathological characteristics of aggressiveness, with impact on survival, especially in the micropapillary variant. The basal IHC profile was associated with larger tumors and squamous variant, and the luminal IHC profile was associated with micropapillary and plasmacytoid variants. The IHC profiles did not differ on the survival rates and there was moderate agreement compared to the subtypes observed in LNM

<p><em>Background:</em> UC is the most common urogenital cancer, comprising up to 2% of all naturally occurring neoplasia in dogs and can be challenging to diagnose. With early diagnosis, the disease can be controlled in most dogs with a good quality of life. MiRNAs are small non-coding RNAs that function by post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression. Their abundant presence and stability in the body make them promising tools for disease diagnosis. </p> <p><em>Hypothesis:</em> A microRNA (miRNA) signature can be used to differentiate canine urothelial carcinoma (UC) from other lower urinary tract diseases.</p> <p><em>Literature review:</em> There is an overlap of miRNA expression changes between normal physiologic processes, non-infectious and non-inflammatory conditions, infectious and/or inflammatory conditions, and neoplasia. Additionally, the mechanism of action of these overlapping miRNAs varies depending on the disease process. There is a lack of standardization of miRNA evaluation and consistency within a single evaluation method. Herein we evaluate three papers on miRNA expression in canine UC and compared the reported expression profile to human UC literature and identified experimentally validated targets of the dysregulated miRNA. </p> <p><em>Methods and results:</em> <strong>(Aim 1)</strong> Using reverse transcriptase quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR), we assessed the effects of sample handling on miRNA expression in formalin-fixed Paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue and urine sediment. We showed that the time of tissue fixation in formalin does not alter the detection of miRNA expression, but the inclusion of the muscularis layer altered the miRNA expression profile in bladder tissue. Additionally, miRNAs in urine sediment were proven to be stable despite the storage temperature for up to two weeks. <strong>(Aim 2)</strong> Using Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) with validation of findings via RT-qPCR, we evaluated differential miRNA expression in bladder tissue collected from normal canine urothelium and the invasive type of UC (iUC) to elucidate the dysregulated pathways. We found that twenty-eight miRNAs were differentially expressed (DE). The DE miRNAs were most often associated with gene silencing by miRNA, miRNAs in cancer, and miRNAs involved in DNA damage responses. Proteins involved include HRAS, KRAS, ARAF, RAF1, MAPK1, MAP2K1, MAPK3, FGFR3, EGFR, HBEGF, RASSF1, E2F2, E2F3, ERBB2, SRC, MMP1, and UP3KA. <strong>(Aim 3)</strong> Using RT-qPCR, expression of miR-214, miR-181a, miR-361, and miR-145 were evaluated. We failed to reject the null hypothesis that the relative gene expression in all groups was the same for any miRNA, nor did we find any multivariate summary that could effectively differentiate UC from inflammatory and non-neoplastic transitional cells. </p> <p><em>Conclusions:</em>   The findings within this thesis highlight the need for standardized methods for miRNA evaluation, support the use of stored samples for miRNA expression analysis, and show the importance of isolating the tissue of interest in FFPE. We defined the miRNome of iUC and investigated numerous protein pathways affected by dysregulation of differentially expressed miRNA in urothelial carcinoma. While we failed to reject our null hypothesis that the miRNA signature we evaluated could be utilized as a diagnostic tool for canine urothelial carcinoma, we showed the promise of miRNA as diagnostic tools and highlight several novel pathways that miRNA regulation affects in this disease. </p>

Background Novel theranostic options for high-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer are urgently needed. This requires a thorough evaluation of experimental approaches in animal models best possibly reflecting human disease before entering clinical studies. Although several bladder cancer xenograft models were used in the literature, the establishment of an orthotopic bladder cancer model in mice remains challenging. Methods Luciferase-transduced UM-UC-3LUCK1 bladder cancer cells were instilled transurethrally via 24G permanent venous catheters into athymic NMRI and BALB/c nude mice as well as into SCID-beige mice. Besides the mouse strain, the pretreatment of the bladder wall (trypsin or poly-L-lysine), tumor cell count (0.5 × 106–5.0 × 106) and tumor cell dwell time in the murine bladder (30 min – 2 h) were varied. Tumors were morphologically and functionally visualized using bioluminescence imaging (BLI), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and positron emission tomography (PET). Results Immunodeficiency of the mouse strains was the most important factor influencing cancer cell engraftment, whereas modifying cell count and instillation time allowed fine-tuning of the BLI signal start and duration – both representing the possible treatment period for the evaluation of new therapeutics. Best orthotopic tumor growth was achieved by transurethral instillation of 1.0 × 106 UM-UC-3LUCK1 bladder cancer cells into SCID-beige mice for 2 h after bladder pretreatment with poly-L-lysine. A pilot PET experiment using 68Ga-cetuximab as transurethrally administered radiotracer revealed functional expression of epidermal growth factor receptor as representative molecular characteristic of engrafted cancer cells in the bladder. Conclusions With the optimized protocol in SCID-beige mice an applicable and reliable model of high-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer for the development of novel theranostic approaches was established.

Background Novel theranostic options for high-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer are urgently needed. This requires a thorough evaluation of experimental approaches in animal models best possibly reflecting human disease before entering clinical studies. Although several bladder cancer xenograft models were used in the literature, the establishment of an orthotopic bladder cancer model in mice remains challenging. Methods Luciferase-transduced UM-UC-3LUCK1 bladder cancer cells were instilled transurethrally via 24G permanent venous catheters into athymic NMRI and BALB/c nude mice as well as into SCID-beige mice. Besides the mouse strain, the pretreatment of the bladder wall (trypsin or poly-L-lysine), tumor cell count (0.5 × 106–5.0 × 106) and tumor cell dwell time in the murine bladder (30 min – 2 h) were varied. Tumors were morphologically and functionally visualized using bioluminescence imaging (BLI), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and positron emission tomography (PET). Results Immunodeficiency of the mouse strains was the most important factor influencing cancer cell engraftment, whereas modifying cell count and instillation time allowed fine-tuning of the BLI signal start and duration – both representing the possible treatment period for the evaluation of new therapeutics. Best orthotopic tumor growth was achieved by transurethral instillation of 1.0 × 106 UM-UC-3LUCK1 bladder cancer cells into SCID-beige mice for 2 h after bladder pretreatment with poly-L-lysine. A pilot PET experiment using 68Ga-cetuximab as transurethrally administered radiotracer revealed functional expression of epidermal growth factor receptor as representative molecular characteristic of engrafted cancer cells in the bladder. Conclusions With the optimized protocol in SCID-beige mice an applicable and reliable model of high-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer for the development of novel theranostic approaches was established.