Expression Of CK20 Mrna In Exfoliated Urinary Cells And Peripheral Blood Of Patients With Tccb

Objective To determine if detection of CK20 expression in urine and peripheral blood by using RT-PCR can provide a novel noninvasive tool for the diagnosis of transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder .Methods CK20 mRNA in three bladder cancer cell lines (T24 , EJ-30 and BIU-87) , exfoliated urinary cells of 61 patients with TCCB, 19 non-cancerous patients and 11 healthy volunteers and peripheral blood of 63 patients with TCCB, 19 non-cancerous patients and 19 healthy volunteers was detected. GAPDH was used as a general marker for normal urinary cells and normal blood cells. CK20 and GAPDH were amplified by using RT-PCR. Results 1.The positive rate of CK20 in bladder cancer cell lines was 100% (3/3). 2. Only 2 of 30 (6.7%) showed positive CK20 signals in urine from control group. Fifty-two of 61 (85.3%) patients with TCCB showed positive CK20 signals in urine. The CK20 expression difference between experimental group and control group was significant (p<0.05). The positive rate of CK20 in T1 was 83.9%(26/31),T2-4 86.7%(26/30)；G1 82.8%(24/29),G2 85%(17/20),G3 91.7%(11/12)。Six of 42 preoperative CK20-positive patients showed positiveCK20 signals in urine after tumor removal. Nine of 9 preoperative CK20-negative patients showed negative CK20 signals in urine after tumor removal. Two of 4 postoperative CK20-positive patients suffered from recurrence, only 1 of 25 postoperative CK20-negative patients suffered from recurrence during a 6-month follow-up period (p=0.04). 3. Nineteen healthy volunteers and 19 non-cancerous patients showed no CK20 signals in peripheral blood. Sixteen of 63 (25.4%) patients with TCCB showed positive CK20 signals in peripheral blood, including 0/31 of stage T1, 2/16 of stage T2, 7/9 of stage T3 , 7/7 of stage T4; The CK 20 expression difference between T1 / T2 group and T3-4 groups was significant (p<0.05). Two patients with positive CK20 signals in peripheral blood had distant metastases during a 6-month follow-up period.Conclusions CK20 is applicable to detect cancer cells in urine and peripheral blood of patients with TCCB and may be helpful in early diagnosis and follow-up of TCCB.