Potential value of soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 in the serum of patients with bladder cancer

The potential value of serum levels of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) in the staging and pathological nature of bladder cancer was investigated in this study.

A total of 90 patients (mean age 64.5 +/- 7.1) having transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder and 30 control patients (mean age 64.0 +/- 5.5) were enrolled in the study. The serum samples of the patients were obtained on the day before surgery, at the same hour of the day.

The preoperative sICAM-1 levels were found to be 46.2 +/- 14.7 and 28.0 +/- 7.8 ng/ml in the tumor group and the control group respectively, which is significantly higher (p = 0.00). The ICAM-1 levels were not different in the invasive tumor group (36 patients) and the superficial tumor group (54 patients; 47.3 +/- 13.8 ng/ml in the invasive group and 45.5 +/- 15.3 ng/ml in the superficial tumor group; p = 0.520). The serum levels of sICAM-1 were significantly higher in grade III tumors than grade I and II tumors (62.0 +/- 8.7, 38.4 +/- 11.9 and 42.2 +/- 8.2 ng/ml respectively; p = 0.000). The mean serum sICAM-1 levels in tumors >3 cm and <3 cm were found to be 52.6 +/- 15.8 and 40.7 +/- 11.0 ng/ml respectively which is statistically significant (p = 0.000).

In this study, serum ICAM-1 levels were found to be related to tumor presence, grade and size. Larger series are needed for the thorough understanding of the role of ICAM-1 in bladder cancer.