Clinicopathological Profiling of LC3B, an Autophagy Marker, and ESRRA (Estrogen-related Receptor-alpha) in Muscle-invasive Bladder Cancer

Background/Aim: Microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3B (LC3B), an autophagy marker, has been used as a promising marker in various cancer types. However, the expression of LC3B in muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) and its prognostic significance have not been investigated. Recent studies pointed to the involvement of ESRRA in regulating autophagy via both transcriptional and post-translational control. In the current study, prognostic importance of LC3B and ESRRA in MIBC was investigated. Patients and Methods: We immunohistochemically studied the expression of LC3B and ESRRA in 56 MIBC samples. Results: LC3B was stained high in 16 patients (28.6%) and low or negative in 40 patients (71.4%). ESRRA expression was high for 20 patients (35.7%) and low for 36 patients (64.3%). Both LC3B (p= 0.003) and ESRRA (p= 0.026) expression correlated significantly with disease-free survival rates. Double-positive LC3B and ESRRA correlated with poor overall survival (p= 0.007) and disease-free survival (p= 0.001) in MIBC patients. Conclusion: LC3B and ESRRA might be a useful prognostic factor in patients with MIBC. The co-expression of LC3B and ESRRA might be a prognostic and therapeutic target for patients with bladder cancer.