| Objective : To investigate the sensitivity and specificity of mucin7(MUC7) gene expression in voided urine samples taken from patients with bladder transitional cell carcinoma.Methods: Expression of MUC7 was detected in exfoliated cells in urine from patients with bladder cancer and benign diseases and healthy volunteers by nested reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. At the same time, the routine urinary cytology was also performed.Results: Among the 68 patients with bladder transitional cell carcinoma, nested RT-PCR for MUC7 was positive in 42 (62%). Based on the tumor stage, MUC7 was positive in 19 of 38(50%) patients with superficial disease (Ta~ T1) and in 23 of 30 (77%) invasive disease patients (T2~T4). There was a significant difference between superficial and invasive disease, but no relation between the expression of MUC7 and the tumor grade. And 3 of 25 urine samples of the control group were MUC7 positive, with an overall specificity of 88%. MUC7 gene expression was detected in none of the healthy volunteers. While cytology was positive in 30(44%), and the specificity was 100%. There was a significant difference between these two methods.Conclusion: MUC7 is a new ideal urinary tumor marker for bladder cancer. The RT-PCR technique demonstrates a promising bladder tumor detection method with high sensitivity and high specificity. |
