Background: Transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder is the most common malignancy affecting the urinary tract ranking the 5(th) among males and the 9(th) among females' cancers in Iraq. The prognosis depends largely on the histological grade and stage of the tumor at diagnosis; however, there is no reliable parameter predicting the risk of recurrence or progression; molecular and immunological markers may be required to estimate the individual prognosis of patients as well as for effective diagnosis and treatment.
Objectives: To evaluate CD10 and CA19.9 immunohistochemical expression in transitional cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder and to correlate this expression with the grade and stage of the tumor.
Materials and methods: This study was retrospectively designed. Forty-nine cystoscopy specimens of urothelial carcinoma of the bladder were retrieved from the archival materials of the Specialized Surgical Hospital and Al-Khadhmiya Teaching Hospital in Baghdad for the period from January 2010 to June 2011. Three sections of 5-μm thickness were taken from each case. One section was stained with Hematoxylin and Eosin; the other two were stained immunohistochemically with CA19.9 and CD10.
Results: Immunohistochemical expression of CA19.9 and CD10 had a significant correlation with WHO 2004 grade of urothelial carcinoma. There was no significant correlation between CA19.9 and CD10 immunohistochemical expression with stage.
Conclusions: CA19.9 and CD10 immunohistochemical expression could be of value in assisting the differentiation between high and low-grade urothelial carcinoma cases and consequently in determining the prognosis in such cases.
Keywords: CA19.9; CD10; Transitional cell carcinoma; urinary bladder.