The role of VEGF/mTOR/AKT pathway in patients with advanced urothelial carcinoma of the bladder cancer.

264 Background: Activation of the mTOR pathway can be observed in various tumor entities. In advanced urothelial carcinoma of the bladder (BCA) its role still is unclear. The aim of our study was to examine activation of the mTOR cascade in BCA and its correlation with survival data. Methods: Tissues from 268 patients undergoing radical cystektomy were collected to assess the diagnostic and prognostic value of mTOR, HIF1-alpha, p4EB-P1, pAKT and VEGF using tissue microarray-based immunohistochemistry. Results: Overexpression of mTOR pathway enzymes is frequently detected for HIF1-alpha (29.8%), pAKT (53.2%), mTOR (43.3%), p4EB-P1 (28.4%) and VEGF (58.5%). Overexpression of pAKT was a significant predictor of progression (PFS) in pT1 (p=0.026) and pT2 (p=0.018) tumors. Overall survival (OAS) was significantly shorter for patients with pT1 (p=0.021) and pT2 (p=0.026) tumors in this subgroup. HIF1-alpha overexpression leads to significant earlier recurrence of BCA following radical cystektomie in the subgrou...