ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: E2F3 is important for cell cycle regulation and DNA replication. Recent studies have reported that members of the E2F family can play specific and diverse roles in the tumorigenesis of human malignancies, and the E2F3 expression appears to provide a growth advantage to tumor cells by activating cell proliferation in bladder tumors. We studied the prognostic significance of E2F3 expression in bladder cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We examined the expression of E2F3 with using immunohistochemical staining in the tumor samples from 109 patients suffering with bladder cancer, and we analyzed the prognostic significance of E2F3 according to the grade, stage, recurrence and progression of bladder cancer. RESULTS: We found positive staining for E2F3 in 23 cases (21.1%). The E2F3 expression was correlated with the tumor stage (superficial vs. invasive, p<0.001) and the tumor grade (p=0.001). The E2F3 expression was not correlated with the recurrence and progression of superficial bladder cancer. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, our results showed that the E2F3 expression was observed in a portion of the bladder cancer specimens. These results suggest that E2F3 may contribute to the development of bladder cancer, but it may not play a role as a prognostic factor of bladder cancer.