Objective: To investigate the immunohistochemical expressions of p53, ki67, CK20 in superficial papillary urothelial neoplasms of the bladder and correlate them with histological grade, tumor progression and recurrence.
Methods: We selected samples of 43 patients with superficial transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder. They were divided into two groups, one called Recurrent (R), with 18 individuals, and other Non-Recurrent (NR), with 25. Multi-sampling blocks were prepared. The immunohistochemical technique employed was immunoperoxidase, and the antibodies were: p53: Novocastra (clone DO7) at a dilution of 1/100; Ki67: Spring (clone SP6) at a dilution of 1/100; and CK20: Dako (clone K20 .8) at a dilution of 1/50.
Results: The expression of p53 was observed in 11 cases, six in the Recurrent group and five in the Non-Recurrent, all high-grade tumors (p = 0.0001). The histological progression occurred in six patients (p = 0.0076). Of the 18 Recurrent cases, six showed immunoreactivity for p53 and 12 were negative for this antibody (p = 0.1715). Ki67 was positive in 17 of the 18 cases from the Recurrent group (p = 0.0001) and, from 20 high-grade tumors, 18 showed reaction to this antibody (p = 0.0001). Of the 18 individuals who had recurrence, 13 showed anomalous expression for CK20 (p = 0.0166). In high-grade carcinomas, of the 20 cases, 16 showed anomalous expression for this antibody, while 18 of the 23 patients with low-grade tumors showed normal expression for CK20 (p = 0.0002).
Conclusion: The p53 showed good correlation with histological progression and histologic grade. Ki67 was strongly associated with recurrence and histological grade, and CK20 was also associated with these variables.