MUC1 expression is correlated with nuclear grade and tumor progression in pT1 renal clear cell carcinoma

We studied, by immunohistochemical analysis, the expression of MUC1 and epithelial membrane antigen in 44 stage pT1 renal cell carcinomas (RCCs). Six patients had a metastatic evolution. The percentage of stained cells was determined for each tumor. All tumors and normal adjacent renal parenchyma were stained. In normal kidney, distal convoluted tubules and collecting ducts stained strongly with an apical distribution. In tumors, there was a significant statistical correlation of the MUC1 expression level with the nuclear grade and with tumor progression. High-grade tumors had more stained cells than did low-grade tumors. Metastatic tumors also were more stained than nonmetastatic lesions. By using the Kaplan-Meier method and the log-rank test, we observed that patients with fewer than 10% of stained cells had no metastatic evolution. In contrast, patients with 70% or more stained cells had significantly lower metastasis-free survival rates. We conclude that MUC1 is expressed in RCC and is associated with tumor progression in pT1 RCC.