Upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) is a rare tumor with an incidence that varies greatly between Eastern and Western countries. Transaldolase 1 (TALDO1) is a rate-limiting enzyme of the pentose phosphate pathway. In humans, aberrant TALDO1 activity has been implicated in various autoimmune diseases and malignancies; however, the function of TALDO1 in UTUC has not been previously investigated. Here we evaluated the clinical significance of TALDO1 expression in 115 paraffin-embedded tumor samples from patients with UTUC using immunohistochemistry. Our results demonstrated that there was an association between high TALDO1 expression and advanced stage (P = 0.011), tumor size (P = 0.005), tumor location (P = 0.047), distant metastases (P = 0.023), local recurrence (P = 0.002), and cancer death (P = 0.003). Using univariate and multivariate analyses, we found that chemotherapy was an independent factor for bladder recurrence-free survival. Late stage (III/IV) and high TALDO1 expression were independent prognostic factors for progression-free and cancer-specific survival. In summary, increased TALDO1 expression in UTUC was significantly correlated with late stage, tumor size, tumor location, distant metastases, local recurrence, and cancer death. Therefore, high TALDO1 expression could be a predictor of poor survival in patients with UTUC. Further studies are necessary to investigate the role of TALDO1 in UTUC development.
Pathology international. 2021 Apr 13 [Epub ahead of print]
Yi-Ru Wu, Yi-Chen Lee, Wei-Ming Li, Wei-Chi Hsu, Hui-Hui Lin, Lin-Li Chang, A-Mei Huang, Jhen-Hao Jhan, Wen-Jeng Wu, Ching-Chia Li, Hsiang-Ying Lee, Hsin-Chih Yeh, Hung-Lung Ke
General Division, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan., Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan., Department of Urology, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan., Graduate Institute of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.