Japanese Journal of Clinical Oncology Advance Access originally published online on July 22, 2006
Japanese Journal of Clinical Oncology 2006 36(9):564-569; doi:10.1093/jjco/hyl063
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© 2006 Foundation for Promotion of Cancer Research
High Levels of Thymidine Phosphorylase as an Independent Prognostic Factor in Renal Cell Carcinoma
1 Department of Urology, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, 2 Fujieda Municipal General Hospital, Fujieda, Shizuoka and 3 Haibara General Hospital, Makinohara, Shizuoka, Japan
For reprints and all correspondence: Tatsuya Takayama, Department of Urology, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, 1-20-1 Handayama, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka 431-3192, Japan. E-mail: takayama{at}hama-med.ac.jp
Received April 3, 2006; accepted May 21, 2006
Background: We investigated whether thymidine phosphorylase (TP) protein level in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) correlates with clinicopathological characteristics and clinical outcomes.
Methods: TP protein level was measured in 116 RCC specimens and in 90 non-neoplastic kidney tissues using a sandwich-type enzyme-linked immunosolvent assay.
Results: The median TP protein level in RCC tissues was 9.76-fold (range, 3.2933.9) higher than those in non-neoplastic kidney tissues (P < 0.0001). TP protein level was correlated with T classification, histological grade and mode of infiltration. TP as a prognostic variable was studied using a logistic regression model. TP at higher levels (128 U/mg protein or greater) would play a role as an independent prognostic factor (odds ratio, 13.73; 95% confidence interval, 2.0990.41; P = 0.0064).
Conclusion: TP at high levels can be regarded as an unfavorable independent prognostic factor. These results may pave a way for a novel approach to effective treatment of RCC.
Key Words: renal cell carcinoma thymidine phosphorylase prognostic factor