OBJECTIVE

To study the somatic mutational status of the FGFR3 gene in urothelial bladder cancer (BC) and evaluate its relationship with the clinical and morphological characteristics of the tumor, deficiency of the DNA mismatch repair (dMMR), PD-L1 tumor status, and immunohistochemical (IHC) expression of the p16 protein.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Surgical material of 40 patients with BC, on which the mutational status of the FGFR3 gene was studied using the molecular genetic method, as well as the MMR status, PD-L1 and p16 expression by the IHC method.

RESULTS

FGFR3 mutations, such as G370C, S249C, S371C/Y373C, R248C, were detected in 35.0% of the studied BC samples. FGFR3 status did not depend on the gender and age of patients, as well as on the degree of tumor lymphoid infiltration (TILs). Statistically significant differences were found in the analysis of FGFR3 status depending on the histological structure and degree of tumor differentiation, as well as on the pT stage. The FGFR3 status of BC was not associated with the IHC expression of the studied proteins of the MMR system, as well as with the PD-L1 status. Higher levels of PD-L1 expression were demonstrated by BC tumor cells, in which no aberrations in FGFR3 were detected. There was no significant association between p16 status and the presence of FGFR3 mutations, but for FGFR3-positive carcinomas, the basal pattern of p16 staining by IHC was noted.

CONCLUSION

A positive somatic mutational status of the FGFR3 gene was statistically significantly more common in the group of papillary low-grade non-muscle-invasive BC, demonstrating basal p16 IHC staining. In the study sample, there was no statistically significant relationship between the FGFR3 status of BC and gender and age differences, TILs, MMR status, PD-L1 status (SP142 and 22C3), and p16 status. The results of the study indicate the need to determine the FGFR3 status in patients with BC for further prescription of personalized therapy.