Serum Metadherin mRNA Expression in Bladder Cancer

Urinary bladder cancer (BC) is the ninth most common cancer worldwide. It is the fifth most common malignancy in males and seventeenth most common in females.

In Egypt, bladder cancer represents a massive health burden where it is one of the commonest cancers representing 6.9% in both sexes and 10.7% among men. Its distribution is 8.8% in lower Egypt, 14.2% in middle Egypt and 12.6% in upper Egypt.Almost 50% of patients will experience recurrence of their disease within 4 years of their initial diagnosis.The prognosis of bladder cancer is poor as a result of highly invasive properties of tumour cells.

The optimal treatment selection depends on early diagnosis as well as accurate staging and grading.Currently there is a need for new molecular bio markers that can help clinicians to identify patients requiring early, aggressive treatment.

Metadherin (MTDH) is an oncogene known as Astrocytic elevated gene-1(AEG-1).It was firstly identified in 2002 at fetal astrocytes of persons exposed to HIV-1 and then known as a vital oncogene mediating carcinogenesis,prognosis,invasion and cancer metastasis. AEG-1 expression is raised in bladder cancer tissues relative to normal tissues, and serves as a poor prognostic factor.