Bwg. Van Rhijn et al., The fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3) mutation is a strong indicator of superficial bladder cancer with low recurrence rate, CANCER RES, 61(4), 2001, pp. 1265-1268
We analyzed the possible prognostic value of the recently discovered fibrob
last growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3) mutations in bladder cancer. A FGFR3
mutation was found in 34 of 53 pT(a)G(1-2) bladder cancers, whereas none of
the 19 higher-staged tumors had a mutation (P < 0.0001). In 57 patients wi
th superficial disease followed prospectively by cystoscopy for 12 months,
14 of 23 patients in the wild-type FGFR3 group developed recurrent bladder
cancer compared with only 7 of 34 patients in the mutant group (P = 0.004),
The recurrence rate per year was 0.24 for the FGFR3 mutant tumors and 1.12
for tumors with a wild-type FGFR3 gene. In addition, FGFR3 mutation status
was the strongest predictor of recurrence when compared with stage and gra
de (P = 0.008). This is the first mutation in bladder cancer that selective
ly identifies patients with favorable disease characteristics. Our results
suggest that the frequency of cystoscopic examinations can be reduced consi
derably in patients with FGFR3-positive tumors.