Improved cancer specific-survival in patients with carcinoma invading bladder muscle expressing cyclo-oxygenase-2.

Unlabelled: Study Type - Prognosis (case series).

Level Of Evidence: 4 OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the expression of cyclo-oxygenase (COX)-2 has an influence on survival and on the response to chemotherapy in invasive bladder cancer.

Patients And Methods: A population of 266 patients from a tertiary university centre with carcinoma invading bladder muscle without evidence of metastasis at time of cystectomy was analyzed retrospectively.

Prognostic markers in muscle invasive bladder cancer.

Current tumor, node, and metastasis (TNM) staging and grading systems are insufficient to accurately predict the evolution of most invasive bladder cancers irrespective of treatment. Predicting which invasive tumors will or will not recur or metastasize early is crucial in order to dictate initial therapy and to better counsel the patient. A need for tumor markers that could be incorporated into clinical practice to add prognostic information to the conventional TNM and grading systems in terms of treatment response and prognosis is crucial.