Collagen, type xi, alpha 1: new marker of muscularis propria infiltration in bladder cancer

Background Bladder cancer is one of the most prevalent neoplasias; although it does not have a high mortality, its great incidence causes a large number of deaths. This is why a proper diagnosis is necessary. Currently, transurethral resection (TUR) based biopsy provides the best tool for the diagnosis of bladder carcinoma. However, technical problems inherent to the resection1 sometimes make the diagnosis inaccurate, especially when there is lack of muscularis propria or fulguration artifacts are present. Our hypothesis is that the presence of COL11A1 in the tumor stroma can be a reliable infiltrative growth predictor, as it has been shown in other tumors such as breast, lung, stomach or pancreas. Methods Immunohistochemistry of COL11A12 was performed in TUR samples of 43 patients. We finally examined 11 pTa, 15 pT1, 11 pT2 and 6 non-neoplastic lesions. Results Our results showed a significant difference ( p Conclusion These data suggest that fibroblast expression of COL11 1 is an accurate malignant marker, with high levels of sensitivity and specificity greater than 90%, which could be used as a predictive marker of muscular infiltration.