Prognostic Value of Androgen Receptor Expression in Bladder Tumors

The present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the prognostic value of androgen receptor expression in bladder tumors.

This study was conducted in the urology department of Imam Reza Hospital on male patients with bladder tumors between 2021 and 2023. In the patients included in the study, during the TURBT procedure, one sample of the tumor and one sample of the apparently healthy mucous membrane of the patient were sent to the pathology laboratory for examination of the expression of the androgen receptor. Then, all patient information, including demographic information (such as age), possible risk factors (such as smoking), tumor grade, tumor stage, and bladder tumor type, was recorded. Finally, the results were analyzed in SPSS software.

A total of 47 male patients were included in the study, whose average age was 66.19±12.63 years. All patients included in the study had TCC. In the grading, 35 patients (74.5%) were in high grade, and 12 other patients (25.5%) were in low grade. The average level of androgen receptor expression in healthy tissue and tumoral tissue was 17.34±24.02 and 18.72±28.35, respectively. The amount of androgen receptors in healthy tissue was higher than in tumoral tissue, although this difference was not statistically significant (P-value=0.971). There was a weak inverse correlation between AST and androgen receptor, between ALT and androgen receptor, and between ALP and androgen receptor, but these were not statistically significant (P-value>0.05).

The expression level of androgen receptors in healthy tissues was slightly higher than in tumoral tissue, but the difference between the two groups was not statistically significant. Considering that the results of studies conducted in this regard are not consistent with each other, there is a need to conduct more studies to clarify the relationship between androgen receptors and bladder tumors.