Importance of cytokeratin-20 expression in papillary urothelial neoplasia

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study is to determine the role of Cytokeratin 20 (CK20) expression in the diagnosis of papillary urothelial neoplasms of the bladder, and its relationship with histological grade, recurrence and other prognostic factors.
 Materials and Methods: Patients diagnosed with papillary urothelial neoplasm of bladder transurethral resection (TUR) specimens between January 2011 and December 2016 were retrospectively analyzed. Of the 136 selected patients, 32 (24%) were diagnosed with urothelial papilloma, 8 (6%) with papillary urothelial neoplasm of low malignant potential (PUNLMP), 36 (26%) with low grade non-invasive papillary urothelial carcinoma (LGNIPUC), 12 (9%) with high grade non-invasive papillary urothelial carcinoma (HGNIPUC) and 48 (35%) were diagnosed with high grade invasive papillary urothelial carcinoma (HGIPUC). There was no patient diagnosed with LGIPUC. The correlation between CK20 expression and histological grade, tumor recurrence, presence of progression and presence/absence of invasion was investigated.
 Results: There was a significant difference between PUNLMP and LGNIPUK in terms of CK20 expression in favor of LGNIPUK. Also there was a significant correlation between histological grade, presence of invasion, recurrence, progression and CK20 expression in patients diagnosed with Papillary Urothelial Neoplasm. 
 Conclusion: This study supports that CK20 is an important marker in the differentiation between PUNLMP and LGNIPUC, as well as in the determination of histological grade in urothelial carcinomas.