RhoA is associated with invasion and lymph node metastasis in upper urinary tract cancer

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Molecular Biology
• Urology

Background:

• Upper urinary tract cancer (UUTK) is a rare malignancy.
• RhoA small GTPase (RhoA) plays critical roles in cell motility and signaling pathways.
• Understanding RhoA's role in UUTK is crucial for developing prognostic markers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the expression levels of RhoA small GTPase (RhoA) in upper urinary tract cancer.
• To determine the correlation between RhoA expression and clinicopathological features.
• To evaluate RhoA as a potential prognostic factor in UUTK.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of RhoA mRNA and protein levels in tumor, non-tumor, and metastatic lymph node tissues from 47 UUTK patients.
• Utilized reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blotting.
• Correlated RhoA expression with clinicopathological parameters and patient survival using Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazards models.

Main Results:

• RhoA mRNA and protein levels were significantly higher in tumor and metastatic tissues compared to non-tumor tissues (P < 0.001).
• Elevated RhoA expression correlated with poor differentiation (P < 0.05) and muscle invasion (P < 0.01-0.001).
• High RhoA levels were associated with shorter disease-free and overall survival (P < 0.01-0.001), and emerged as an independent prognostic factor.

Conclusions:

• RhoA small GTPase (RhoA) is implicated in the invasion and metastasis of upper urinary tract cancer.
• RhoA expression levels serve as a significant prognostic indicator for disease-free and overall survival in UUTK patients.
• Targeting RhoA may offer therapeutic strategies for UUTK.