Expression of cytokeratin20 in 51 cases of bladder urothelial carcinoma

Objective To appraise the expression of cytokeratin20(CK20) in bladder urothelial carcinoma and its value in pathological diagnosis. Methods Immunohistochemical staining for CK20 was performed in 51 cases of bladder urothelial carcinoma and 22 cases of non-neoplastic bladder mucosa.The expression of CK20 in tumor cells was correlated with the clinicopathological characteristics of bladder urothelial carcinoma.Results The positive rate of CK20 in bladder urothelial carcinoma was 72.55%, while no CK20 expression was found in non-neoplastic bladder mucosa(P0.001). The positive expression of CK20 was significantly correlated with histological grading and tumor staging(P0.05), but not related to the patients’ sex and the number or size of the tumor(P0.05).Conclusion CK20 might be an important marker in the diagnosis of bladder urothelial carcinoma. Detection of CK20 can predict the degree of malignancy and prognosis, providing the theoretical basis for clinical treatment.