SIGNIFICANCE OF SERUM LAMININ P-1 VALUES IN PATIENTS WITH TRANSITIONAL-CELL CARCINOMA OF THE BLADDER

Objectives. The goal of this study was to investigate the relation bet ween serum laminin P-1 expression and the grade, stage, size, and mult iplicity of the tumors to elucidate the potential role of laminin as a diagnostic and prognostic factor in transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) of the bladder. Methods. Serum concentration of laminin P-1 was measu red by radioimmunoassay in 38 patients with TCC of the bladder and com pared with the serum laminin P-1 values obtained from 34 healthy contr ol subjects. Patients were grouped according to their tumor stage, gra de, size, and multiplicity to compare the serum laminin P-1 values. Re sults. The mean serum laminin P-1 level in the patient group was stati stically higher than the controls (P=1.3 x 10(-8)); With the destructi on of basement membrane (stages pT1 or greater), a significant increas e in the serum value was observed (P=0.00023). Laminin level was found to be positively related to the tumor size and number; however, no co rrelation was observed with the grade. in tumors invading the lamina p ropria and beyond, the sensitivity of laminin P-1 was 78.9% and specif icity was 97.1%. The positive and negative predictive values of lamini n P-1 were 93.7% and 89.5%, respectively. The patients whose serum lam inin P-1 levels were above the upper limit of normal (1.6863 U/mL) wer e found to have a higher recurrence rate (72%) than the patients who h ad lower serum values in the control cystoscopies performed 3 months a fter the first admission (P <0.01). Conclusions. Serum laminin P-1 see ms to be a valuable adjunctive marker to predict tumor invasion and re currence. This warrants further research.