Association of Thrombomodulin Expression with Bladder Cancer Grade, Stage, and Recurrence: A Single-Center Prospective Pilot Study

Background & Objective: Bladder cancer is the fourth most prevalent malignancy and lacks reliable biomarkers for predicting tumor stage, grade, and clinical outcomes. This study aimed to evaluate the association between thrombomodulin (TM)–positive cell rate (PR) and tumor grade, stage, and recurrence in patients with bladder cancer.Methods: This prospective observational pilot study was conducted at the Urology Clinic of Sina Hospital, Tehran, between March and December ۲۰۲۲. A total of ۵۱ patients diagnosed with bladder cancer following cystoscopy and transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT) were enrolled. Of these, ۱۱ patients with stage T۲ disease underwent radical cystectomy. TM expression was assessed by immunohistochemical staining, and the PR score was calculated. The remaining ۴۰ patients underwent follow-up cystoscopy ۳ months post-TURBT to assess for recurrence or progression. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS version ۲۶, with comparisons of quantitative variables conducted using ANOVA and t tests.Results: The mean age of participants was ۶۶.۷۳ ± ۱۱.۰۰ years, and ۴۶ were male. The mean TM PR value was ۲۵.۵۱ ± ۶.۲۴. No significant differences in TM PR values were observed among different tumor grades (p = ۰.۱۴۴) or stages (p = ۰.۸۱۵). Additionally, there were no significant differences in TM PR values or PR scores between patients with and without recurrence at ۳-month follow-up cystoscopy (p = ۰.۱۴۴ and p = ۰.۰۸۵, respectively).Conclusion: TM PR values did not correlate with tumor grade, stage, or recurrence in this cohort of bladder cancer patients. Further studies with larger sample sizes and longer follow-up periods are warranted.

کلیدواژه ها:

Thrombomodulin ، Bladder cancer ، Recurrence ، Immunohistochemistry