Exploring XDH expression as a prognostic marker for urothelial carcinoma

Xanthine dehydrogenase (XDH) serves as a key enzyme in purine metabolism and plays a significant role in carcinogenesis. However, the clinical significance of XDH in urothelial carcinoma (UC) progression remains unclear. Using a transcriptomic UC database (GSE32894), we found that among the genes related to XDH activity (GO:0004854), XDH was significantly downregulated during UC progression. Therefore, we aimed to assess the prognostic value of XDH immunoexpression in urinary bladder UC (UBUC) and upper tract UC (UTUC) patients.

Immunohistochemical staining for XDH was performed on 340 UTUC and 295 UBUC specimens. The association of XDH expression with clinicopathological features and patients' outcomes, including disease-specific survival (DSS) and metastasis-free survival (MFS), was analyzed using Pearson's chi-square test, Kaplan-Meier analysis, and multivariate Cox proportional hazards model to identify independent prognosticators.

Low XDH expression was significantly associated with high tumor stage, nodal metastasis, high tumor grade, perineural invasion, vascular invasion, and a high mitotic rate (all P < 0.01). Kaplan-Meier survival curves showed that low XDH expression was associated with poor DSS and MFS (both p < 0.001). After adjusting for the standard pathological parameters, XDH expression status was an independent prognostic factor for DSS and MFS in UBUC and UTUC (all P < 0.01) in the multivariate analysis model. To associate XDH with potential functions in UC, gene co-expression examination was performed using the GO classification system. XDH upregulation was linked to pyroptosis and desmosomes.

Low XDH expression correlates with aggressive pathological features and poor oncological outcomes, indicating its prognostic and therapeutic significances in patients with UC.