CD10 expression in urinary bladder urothelial carcinoma is associated with high-tumor grade and stage

Objectives: Primary urinary bladder carcinoma is a common cancer worldwide. There is limited published data about CD10 immunoexpression pattern in urothelial bladder carcinoma (UBC). This study aims to examine CD10 immunoexpression in UBC and evaluate its relationship with clinicopathological parameters.

Methods: The retrospective study examined 130 samples of UBC tissue and 30 samples of non-neoplastic urothelial bladder tissue, which were obtained from the Anatomic Pathology Department, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The project started in June 2019 and completed in February 2021. Tissue microarrays (TMA) were prepared from paraffin blocks and tissue sections prepared from the recipient blocks were used for immunohistochemistry studies utilizing CD10 antibody. The immunostaining results were recorded and analyzed.

Results: Positive staining of CD10 was observed in 64 (49%) cases of UBC and was not detected in any non-neoplastic urothelium samples. CD10-positive staining was identified in 36.7% and 66.7% of low and high-grade tumors, respectively. There was an association between positive CD10 immunostaining and high tumor grade (p=0.006) and muscularis propria invasion (p=0.007). There was no association between CD10 immunoexpression and age, gender, nodal and distant metastasis, lymphovascular invasion, and tumor recurrence. CD10 immunoexpression was not associated with the probabilities of overall survival (log rank 1.663, p=0.197) or disease-free survival (log rank 1.637, p=0.201).

Conclusions: In UBC, CD10 immunoexpression is associated with higher tumor grade and muscle invasion, but it is not associated with patient survival or other clinicopathological parameters. CD10 immunoexpression cannot be used as a biomarker for poor prognosis in UBC.