Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 7, 2026
11:02
Induction of Invasive Transitional Cell Bladder Carcinoma in Immune Intact Human MUC1 Transgenic Mice: A Model for Immunotherapy Development
Published on: October 30, 2013
Increased SPHK1 expression is associated with poor prognosis in bladder cancer
Xiao-Dong Meng1, Zhan-Song Zhou, Jian-Hong Qiu
1Department of Urology, Southwest Hospital, The Third Military Medical University, No. 30, Gaotanyanzheng Street, Shapingba District, Chongqing, 40038, China, mengxd1977@gmail.com.
Summary
Increased sphingosine kinase 1 (SPHK1) expression is linked to poorer outcomes in bladder cancer (BC). This study found higher SPHK1 levels in BC tissues, correlating with advanced stage and grade, and predicting reduced survival.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Molecular Biology
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Sphingosine kinase 1 (SPHK1) protein upregulation is linked to poor prognosis in various cancers.
- The specific role of SPHK1 in bladder cancer (BC) pathogenesis and progression requires further elucidation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess SPHK1 expression in bladder cancer tissues.
- To investigate the association between SPHK1 expression and clinicopathological characteristics.
- To determine the prognostic value of SPHK1 in bladder cancer patients.
Main Methods:
- Real-time quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) to measure SPHK1 mRNA levels in 37 fresh-frozen BC tissue pairs.
- Immunohistochemistry (IHC) to evaluate SPHK1 protein expression in 153 archived BC samples.
- Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and multivariate Cox regression to assess prognostic significance.
Main Results:
- SPHK1 mRNA expression was significantly higher in BC tissues compared to noncancerous tissues.
- High SPHK1 protein expression correlated significantly with higher histologic grade (P=0.045) and advanced tumor stage (P<0.001).
- Patients with high SPHK1 expression exhibited significantly reduced overall 5-year survival rates (P<0.001), identifying it as an independent poor prognostic factor.
Conclusions:
- Increased SPHK1 expression is implicated in the pathogenesis and progression of bladder cancer.
- SPHK1 may serve as a potential biomarker for predicting prognosis in bladder cancer.
- Further research into SPHK1's role could lead to novel therapeutic strategies for bladder cancer.