Expression of OCT3/4 in Urinary Bladder Tumors and Its Correlation with Clinicopathological and Prognostic Parameters

Abstract

Introduction: Urinary bladder carcinoma is a common
malignancy with significant recurrence and progression risk.
Cancer stem cell markers such as OCT3/4, a pluripotency
transcription factor, are implicated in tumor aggressiveness
and therapeutic resistance. Assessing OCT3/4 expression may
improve prognostic accuracy and aid in risk stratification. The
aim of the study is to evaluate OCT3/4 expression in urinary
bladder tumors and correlate it with histological type, grade,
and prognostic parameters, including lymphovascular invasion
and perineural invasion.
Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was
conducted on 40 histologically confirmed urinary bladder
tumors in the Department of Pathology, SRMS IMS, Bareilly.
Immunohistochemistry for OCT3/4 was performed, and
results were analyzed statistically for associations with
clinicopathological parameters.
Results: The mean patient age was 61.7 ± 11.1 years, and males
constituted 95%. Invasive urothelial carcinoma accounted for
85% of cases, with 65% being high grade and 50% showing
muscle invasion. OCT3/4 expression was +1 in 57.5%, +2 in
30%, and +3 in 5% of specimens. No significant association
was found with age, sex, or histological type (p >0.05). However,
higher OCT3/4 expression correlated significantly with tumor
grade (p <0.05), muscular invasion (p <0.05), and perineural
invasion, indicating increased expression in aggressive tumors.
Conclusion: OCT3/4 expression is demographically neutral
yet biologically informative, enriching risk stratification beyond
morphology by associating with high-grade, muscularis propria
invasion, and perineural invasion. The predominance of mild
positivity with selective enrichment of moderate–strong staining
in aggressive phenotypes supports OCT3/4 as a practical
adjunct immunomarker for prognostic assessment in urothelial
carcinoma.