HIGH URINE CONCENTRATIONS OF BASIC FIBROBLAST GROWTH-FACTOR IN DOGS WITH BLADDER-CANCER

Because dogs with bladder cancer often have advanced disease at the ti me of diagnosis, the identification and use of a tumor marker that cou ld facilitate earlier diagnosis is a valid approach to improve prognos is, The objective of this study was to determine if urine concentratio ns of the proangiogenic peptide, basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) , are high in dogs with bladder cancer compared with normal dogs and d ogs with urinary tract infection. We used a commercially available enz yme-linked immunosorbent assay test kit to quantitate bFGF in the urin e of 17 normal dogs, 10 dogs with urinary tract infection, and 7 dogs with locally active transitional cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder . In normal dogs, the median urine bFGF concentration was 2.23 ng/g cr eatinine (quartile range, 1.53 to 5.12 ng/g creatinine). The median ur ine bFGF concentration in dogs with urinary tract infection did not di ffer significantly from normal dogs, Dogs with bladder cancer had sign ificantly higher urine bFGF concentrations than normal dogs (P <.002) and dogs with infection (P <.02). The median urine bFGF concentration in dogs with transitional cell carcinoma was 9.86 ng/g creatinine (qua rtile range, 7.40 to 21.63 ng/g creatinine), Six of 7 dogs with bladde r cancer had urine bFGF concentrations that were up to 7.4 times the 9 0th percentile value for normal dogs. Only 1 of 10 dogs with infection had a urine bFGF concentration that exceeded the 90th percentile of n ormal, These data suggest that canine bladder cancers export bFGF, and that urine bFGF may be useful as a diagnostic tumor marker or noninva sive indicator of treatment response. Copyright (C) 1996 by the Americ an College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.