The Significance of Urinary Nuclear Matrix Protein ( NMP ) as a Marker for Transitional Cell Carcinoma of the Bladder

Kim, Jung Soo; Lee, Hyun Moo; Lee, Kang Hyun

Abstract

NMP is a kind of protein relating to the internal structural framework of the nucleus, which is related to gene expression and regulation such as DNA replication and processing of RNA, and is made in tumor cell more than in normal cell. The object of this study is to evaluate the utility of NMP22 in urine as the possible marker of monitoring the transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder. Two groups attended the trial of NMP22; 1) 25 healthy volunteers 2) 25 patients with the transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder. The result is that the values of the mean NMP22 of the healthy volunteers and the patients with the transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder were 4.04+/-1.83 U/ml and 186.9+/-405.9 U/ml, respectively. The difference was statistically significant (p=0.028). The value of urinary mean NMP22 according to the tumor grade and the tumor stage didn`t show the significant difference statistically (grade I: 41.3+/-51.9 U/ml, grade II: 167.6+/-369.3 U/ml, grade HI: 362.7+/-605.5 U/ml, superficial TCC: 204.2+/-453.0 U/ml, invasive TCC:132.0+/-217.1 U/ml). In detecting the transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder, the sensitivity of urine cytology was 68% and the sensitivity of combining urinary NMP22 and urine cytology was 88%, when the value of the urinary NMP22 over 7.70 U/ml was considered as the positive. Urinary NMP22 is expected to increase the diagnosis and the detection of recurrence of the transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder if it is used together with the urine cytology as the urinary tumor marker of the transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder.