Expression of Vimentin in Urothelial Carcinoma of Urinary Bladder -Correlation with Histologic grade and Muscle Invasion

Abstract

Introduction: Bladder tumors are about six times more prevalent in developed countries than in developing ones (Kirkali et al., 2005). However, the incidence of bladder cancer is rising in developing countries like Bangladesh, with incidence, mortality, and 5-year prevalence rates of 1.1%, 0.84%, and 2.3%, respectively (GLOBOCAN, 2020). This study aimed to examine Vimentin expression concerning histologic grade and muscle invasion in urothelial carcinoma of the bladder. Methods & Methods: This prospective, cross-sectional observational study was carried out in Sir Salimullah Medical College, from March 2020 to February 2022. A total of 40 patients irrespective of age or sex, with histopathologically diagnosed urothelial carcinoma of bladder in the pathology department of Sir Salimullah Medical College, other teaching hospitals and private institutions in Dhaka were included in this study. Result: In this study, 15 (37. 5%) cases were in age group 51-60 year, and 13 (32.5%) were in group 61-70 year, with the mean age at presentation 60.8±9.8 years, ranging from 37-78 years. 31 cases were male, with male to female ratio of 3.4:1. The predominant symptom was hematuria (77.5%). Most of the tumors (18; 45%) were located on lateral wall. The tumors were graded according to WHO grading criteria (2016). Regarding vimentin expression, it was seen that, both grade and muscle invasion were associated with positive vimentin expression (p=0.008 and p<0.001 respectively). Spearman’s correlation test showed that vimentin expression has statistically significant correlation with both grade (rs=0.506; p=0.001) and muscle invasion (rs=0.585; p<0.001). Conclusion: The outcome of this study has shown that positive vimentin expression has statistically significant relationship with both grade and muscle invasion.