Iranian Journal of Pathology

Association of Thrombomodulin Expression with Bladder Cancer Grade, Stage, and Recurrence: A Single-Center Prospective Pilot Study

Document Type : Original Research

Authors

Mohammad Reza Nikoobakht 1
Shima Esmaeilpanah 1
Iman Menbari Oskouie 1
Mahdi Khoshchehreh 2
Farshid Alaeidini 3
Seyed Mohammad Kazem Aghamir 1

1 Urology Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

2 Department of Pathology, University of California, Los Angeles, USA

3 Tehran Heart Center, Cardiovascular Diseases Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

https://doi.org/10.30699/ijp.2025.2047132.3387
Abstract
Background & Objective: Bladder cancer is the fourth most prevalent malignancy and lacks reliable biomarkers for predicting tumor stage, grade, and clinical outcomes. This study aimed to evaluate the association between thrombomodulin (TM)–positive cell rate (PR) and tumor grade, stage, and recurrence in patients with bladder cancer.
Methods: This prospective observational pilot study was conducted at the Urology Clinic of Sina Hospital, Tehran, between March and December 2022. A total of 51 patients diagnosed with bladder cancer following cystoscopy and transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT) were enrolled. Of these, 11 patients with stage T2 disease underwent radical cystectomy. TM expression was assessed by immunohistochemical staining, and the PR score was calculated. The remaining 40 patients underwent follow-up cystoscopy 3 months post-TURBT to assess for recurrence or progression. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS version 26, with comparisons of quantitative variables conducted using ANOVA and t tests.
Results: The mean age of participants was 66.73 ± 11.00 years, and 46 were male. The mean TM PR value was 25.51 ± 6.24. No significant differences in TM PR values were observed among different tumor grades (p = 0.144) or stages (p = 0.815). Additionally, there were no significant differences in TM PR values or PR scores between patients with and without recurrence at 3-month follow-up cystoscopy (p = 0.144 and p = 0.085, respectively).
Conclusion: TM PR values did not correlate with tumor grade, stage, or recurrence in this cohort of bladder cancer patients. Further studies with larger sample sizes and longer follow-up periods are warranted.

Keywords

Thrombomodulin
Bladder cancer
Recurrence
Immunohistochemistry

Subjects

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Iranian Journal of Pathology
Volume 20, Issue 3
Summer 2025
Pages 266-272

  • Receive Date 30 January 2024
  • Revise Date 13 February 2025
  • Accept Date 17 April 2025

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