Correlation between apoptosis and histological grade of transitional cell carcinoma of urinary bladder

To evaluate the relationship between histological grade and apoptotic index [AI] in transitional cell carcinoma [TCC] of urinary bladder. Formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissue blocks from 75 patients with TCC, who undergone transurethral resection [TUR] were studied. One 3-micron section was provided from each TUR samples. In one section after hematoxylin and eosin [H and E] staining, tumor grade was determined according to World Health Organization/International Society of Urology and Pathology [WHO/ISUP] criteria. The apoptotic cells were determined using a terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase [TdT] mediated dUTP biotin nick end labeling [TUNEL] technique. Apoptotic index was then obtained as the percent of TUNEL positive cells from observations of at least 1000 cells in each section. Forty-nine patients were men and 26 were women. Mean age was 56.34 +/- 9 years. Mean AI was 2.30 +/- 0.50. The relationship between grade and AI was significant [p=0.000, r=0.551]; a higher grade was associated with a higher AI. Apoptosis index has a positive correlation with bladder TCC's grade. Further studies are needed to better determine the effect of apoptosis index on prognosis