Significance of fibulin-3 expression in bladder cancer: a tissue microarray-based immunohistochemical study

Abstract

Abstract Background Predicting the behavior of bladder cancer by easy noninvasive methods and with less cost is needed. Fibulin-3 (EFEMP1), a glycoprotein of the extracellular matrix that is encoded by the gene EFEMP1, has been nominated as one of the potential mediators of muscle invasion in bladder cancer. Methods In this tissue microarray-based immunohistochemical study, fibulin-3 level of expression was evaluated using a semiquantitative scoring system and was correlated with patient’s age and sex and tumor grade and stage. Results A total of 160 urothelial carcinoma cases were analyzed. The age of the patients ranged from 25 to 91 years (mean, 60.15; SD, 11.60). Fibulin-3 was significantly associated with muscle invasion and overall tumor stage (p = 0.033 and 0.02, respectively). Fibulin-3 expression was nonsignificantly associated with tumor grade (p = 0.092) Conclusions We found that the expression of fibulin-3 is significantly associated with muscle invasion in urinary bladder urothelial carcinoma. However, the prognostic role of fibulin-3 needs further investigations.