PURPOSE: This study was performed to evaluate the relationship of the expressions of clusterin with Ki-67 and the clinicopathological factors and significance of clusterin expression in human renal cell carcinoma (RCC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Normal kidney (n=26) and RCC tissues (n=111) were obtained from 111 patients who had undergone a radical or partial nephrectomy. The expressions of clusterin and Ki-67 protein were analysed using immunohistochemical staining. The medical records of the patients were retrospectively reviewed to evaluate the clinicopathological factors. RESULTS: In contrast to the clusterin and Ki-67 expressions of 30.8 and 11.5%, respectively in the normal kidney (n=26), those in the RCC tissues were 93.7 and 28.8% (n=111), respectively (p<0.05). In contrast to the normal tissues, Ki-67 staining was significantly correlated with the expression of clusterin in the RCC tissues (p<0.05). The expression level of clusterin protein in the RCC tissues was significantly related to the tumor stage and grade (p<0.05), but not to age, gender or histological cell type (p>0.05). Furthermore, the recurrence-free survival in patients with strong clusterin expression was significantly lower than in those with weak expression (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that clusterin may be involved in the progression of RCC and; therefore, a useful prognostic variable in patients with an RCC.
Carcinoma, Renal Cell* ; Clusterin* ; Humans* ; Ki-67 Antigen ; Kidney ; Medical Records ; Nephrectomy ; Retrospective Studies