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Int J Clin Exp Pathol 2013;6(7):1367-1374

Original Article
UBE2C is a marker of unfavorable prognosis in bladder cancer after radical cystectomy

Teppei Morikawa, Taketo Kawai, Hiroyuki Abe, Haruki Kume, Yukio Homma, Masashi Fukayama

Department of Pathology, Graduate School of Medicine, the University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Urology, Graduate School of
Medicine, the University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

Received May 13, 2013; Accepted May 28, 2013; Epub June 15, 2013; Published July 1, 2013

Abstract: It has been suggested that ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme E2C (UBE2C, also known as UBCH10) represents a promising cancer
biomarker. However, the clinicopathological or prognostic significance as well as the functions of UBE2C in bladder cancer are largely
unknown. To investigate the significance of UBE2C expression in bladder cancer, immunohistochemical analysis was performed using a
tissue microarray. UBE2C positivity was observed in 51 of 82 (62%) bladder urothelial carcinoma cases treated with radical cystectomy. In
contrast, UBE2C was negative in all of the non-neoplastic urothelium examined. UBE2C positivity was significantly associated with higher
tumor stage (p=0.0061) and presence of lymphovascular invasion (p=0.0045). In addition, UBE2C positivity was significantly associated with
shorter cancer-specific survival after cystectomy (log rank p=0.0017; multivariate hazard ratio, 2.49; 95% confidence interval, 1.09-5.71). Small
interfering RNA-mediated suppression of UBE2C in UM-UC-3 bladder cancer cells inhibited cell proliferation in vitro. Taken together, our
results suggest that UBE2C is a novel prognostic biomarker as well as a potential therapeutic target in bladder cancer. (IJCEP1305014).

Keywords: Cell cycle, immunohistochemistry, pathology, prognosis, urinary tract

Address correspondence to: Teppei Morikawa, Department of Pathology, Graduate School of Medicine, the University of Tokyo, Hongo 7-3-1,
Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan. Phone: 81-3-5841-3341; Fax: 81-3-3815-8379; E-mail: tmorikawa-tky@umin.ac.jp