Expression Of Thymidine Phosphorylase And Cyclooxygenase-2 In Transitional Cell Carcinoma Of Bladder And Their Relation To Tumor Angiogenesis

[Objective] To study the expression of Thymidine Phosphorylase(TP) andCyclooxygenase-2 in transitional cell carcinonma and the relationship between their expression and the pathological grades and clinical stages of cancer, as well as their clinical significance. In order to evaluate the roles of TP and Cox-2 in the tumor angiogenesis of bladder cancer, the relationship between them and the expression of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor(VEGF) and Microvessel Density(MVD) were studied.[Methods] The expressions of TP, Cox-2, VEGF and MVD were measured by immunohistochemistry in 94 cases of bladder cancer, 12 cases of benign bladder disease and 5 cases of normal tissue beside the tumor. The difference of their expression among three groups, the relationship between them and the pathological grades and clinical stages of bladder cancer, and the relationship among the expression of themselves were analysed. [Results] TP was detected in both bladder tumor cell and stroma. The intensity of expression of TP was increased with the increasing of grades and stages of the tumor (P<0. 05); The expression of TP was found to be more intense in higher grades(G2-G3) and invasive(SpT2) bladder cancer than that in lower grade(Gl) and superficial bladder cancer(P<0. 05); In the G3Tl/G3Ta group of cancer, TP expression was significantly stronger than that in its opposite group(P<0. 05); TP expression was significantly stronger in the cancer stromaof G3 grade than that in other groups(P<0. 05); The expression of 'IT was very strong in the squamous carcinoma of bladder and the transitional cell carcinoma with squamous cancer component. The intensity of Cox-2 expression was also increased with the increasing of grades and stages of tumor(P<0. 05) ; In the higher grades groups(G2-G3), Cox-2 expression was more intense significantly than that in the lower grade(G1) (P<0.01); There was a strong expression of Cox-2 in the transitional cell carcinoma with squamous cancer component. The expression of VEGF and MVD were also found to be increased with the increasing of grades of the tumor(P<0. 01); With the increasing of clinical stages of bladder cancer, the expression of VEGF still showed the same tendency, but it failed to achieve statistical significance(P>0. 05); The expression of VEGF and MVD was more intense significantly in the higher grades(G2-G3) than that in the lower grade(G1)(P<0.01), the same result was also found between the invasive groups ( = pT2) and the superficial groups(