Comparison of genetic changes in schistosome-related transitional and squamous bladder cancers using comparative genomic hybridization.

The development of bladder tumors has been associated with a number of causative agents, including schistosomiasis. Schistosome-related cancers show different clinical and pathological features compared with non-schistosome-related bladder cancers, occurring in younger patients, and being predominantly of squamous cell type. This study addresses the difference between squamous and transitional tumor types in the presence of schistosome infection as a measure of the relationship between tumor genotype and phenotype.

High density deletion mapping of bladder cancer localizes the putative tumor suppressor gene between loci D8S504 and D8S264 at chromosome 8p23.3.

Deletion of chromosome 8p is associated with the progression of bladder cancer. To identify the putative tumor suppressor gene locus we have analyzed 145 bladder cancers with 12 microsatellite markers for allelic changes at the chromosome 8p23.3 region.

Establishment and characterization of a multidrug-resistant human bladder carcinoma cell line RT112/D21.

A doxorubicin-resistant human bladder carcinoma cell line RT112/D21 was established by continuous exposure of the parental line RT112 to increasing concentrations of doxorubicin over a period of 9 months. RT112/D21 cells expressed significantly more P-170 glycoprotein than the parental line, and rhodamine 123 efflux, as a functional parameter of P-170 glycoprotein activity, was increased. RT112/D21 cells were 96 times more resistant to doxorubicin than RT112 cells, and cross-resistance to epirubicin and vinblastine was present.