Expression of cyclooxygenase-2, P-glycoprotein and multi-drug resistance-associated protein in canine transitional cell carcinoma

Abstract Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), P-glycoprotein (P-gp) and multi-drug resistance-associated protein (MRP) are considered important tumor-associated proteins in humans and dogs. In the present study, we immunohistochemically evaluated the expression of these proteins in canine patients with transitional cell carcinoma (TCC). Of 52 cases, 30 (57.7%) were positive for COX-2, 40 (76.9%) for P-gp, and only 10 (19.2%) for MRP. In addition, 27 samples (27/52, 51.9%) were positive for two markers, while 3 (5.7%) and 5 (9.6%) cases were positive and negative, respectively, for all three markers. No significant correlations were seen for COX-2 and P-gp on Fisher’s exact test and Mann–Whitney’s test, but a significance was seen on Spearman’s rank correlation analysis using the IHC scoring system ( P  = 0.043). These results suggest that P-gp expression is induced by overexpression of COX-2 in canine patients with TCC.