Evaluation of cytokeratin-19 & cytokeratin-20 and interleukin-6 in Egyptian bladder cancer patients

Objectives This study was designed to detect the expression of CK-19 and CK-20 in tissue specimens and IL-6 in the sera (as a noninvasive maneuver) of bladder cancer patients. Results were correlated with the clinico-pathologic parameters, Bilharziasis and the occurrence of relapse of the carcinoma among Egyptian bladder cancer patients. Methods Subjects of this study were 50 cases of bladder carcinoma (19 cases were positive for Bilharziasis) as well as 20 cystitis cases as control (7 cases were positive for Bilharziasis). Messenger ribonucleic acid extracted from fresh frozen tissue specimens with bladder tumor and the control group were collected and subjected to RT-PCR to detect expression of the amplification bands of CK-19 and CK-20 (214 and 370 base pairs). In the mean time, Interleukin-6 was quantified in the sera of the patients using ELISA kit. Results CK-19 and CK-20 RNAs were expressed in bladder cancer cases, but not expressed in the control group. They were significantly correlated to advanced tumor stage and grade, while CK-19 positivity, was also, correlated to tumor recurrence and tumor pathology being more in SCC than TCC. Moreover, IL-6 positivity was correlated to the occurrence of malignancy, advanced grade and pathology being more in SCC than TCC. ROC curve was utilized to choose the best cut-off for serum IL-6 (49.2 pg/mL). At the determined cut-off, the sensitivity was 66% and the specificity was 95%. Bilharziasis was found to be related to advanced stages and grades of bladder cancer. Conclusion CK-19, CK-20 and IL-6 were strongly associated with malignant phenotype of Egyptian bladder tissues, so they may be used as additional markers for assessment of bladder cancer patients.