Implications of androgen receptor and FUS expression on tumor progression in urothelial carcinoma.

Abstract

To examine the immunohistochemical expression of AR and FUS in urothelial carcinoma in relation to prognostic parameters and to extrapolate any possible link between the expression of both markers and tumor progression. Retrospective study using immunohistochemical staining for AR and FUS on (88) cases of urothelial carcinoma. AR shows statistically significant relations with late tumor stage, high tumor grade, and non-papillary tumor pattern. On the other hand, FUS expression correlates with early tumor stage, low tumor grade and papillary pattern. An inverse relation is found between AR and FUS expression (p=0.001). Cases with high AR IHC expression show statistically significant shorter OS, RFS and PFS compared to cases with low AR expression. Cases with high FUS IHC expression reveal statistically significant longer OS, RFS and PFS compared to cases with low FUS expression. FUS expression is associated with favorable prognostic parameters of UC. A possible interaction is suggested between FUS and AR pathways involved in urothelial cancer progression. Manipulating FUS levels and androgen deprivation therapy can provide new promising targets for treatment trials.