Investigating the role of HMGA2 plasma level as a diagnostic marker in bladder urothelial carcinoma patients

Abstract Background Bladder Cancer (BC) is an environmental cancer caused by exposure to a globally widespread carcinogen, which is smoking, and it is characterized by high rates of recurrence and mortality. High Mobility Group A2 (HMGA2) protein is an oncofetal protein that belongs to the HMG famil...

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Main Authors: Farah Khazem, Almoutassem Billah Zetoune
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Springer 2025-04-01
Series:Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-025-06192-z
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author Farah Khazem
Almoutassem Billah Zetoune
author_facet Farah Khazem
Almoutassem Billah Zetoune
author_sort Farah Khazem
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background Bladder Cancer (BC) is an environmental cancer caused by exposure to a globally widespread carcinogen, which is smoking, and it is characterized by high rates of recurrence and mortality. High Mobility Group A2 (HMGA2) protein is an oncofetal protein that belongs to the HMG family proteins. It is involved in various stages of carcinogenesis and cancer progression. This study investigated the presence and levels of the HMGA2 protein in bladder urothelial carcinoma patients’ plasma and in healthy individuals and their association with the clinicopathological features of bladder urothelial carcinoma. Methods This case–control study included 80 individuals divided into two groups: a healthy group (n = 22) and a patient group with bladder urothelial carcinoma (n = 58). There were 16 patients with Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer (MIBC) and 42 patients with Non-Invasive Bladder Cancer (NMIBC) in the patients’ cohort according to the European Association of Urology (EAU) classification. HMGA2 plasma levels were measured by Sandwich Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay (ELISA). The statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS statistics (version 25) software. The t-test and the Mann–Whitney test were used. Results Plasma HMGA2 protein levels were higher in the BC group than in the healthy group (P < 0.001), they also were higher in MIBC (pT2-pT3) than in NMIBC (pTa-pT1) (P < 0.001). HMGA2 plasma levels were higher in high grade BC patients than in low grade BC patients (P = 0.049). Conclusions This study confirmed that the plasma HMGA2 protein level was higher in bladder cancer patients than in healthy individuals and that its elevated plasma levels were correlated with advanced stage and grade of BC; thus, the plasma HMGA2 protein level represents a potential non-invasive marker that could be included in bladder cancer diagnosis approach.
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spelling doaj-art-494032844b024bc9b242b6cbab1e3eda2025-08-20T02:32:00ZengSpringerJournal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology1432-13352025-04-0115141910.1007/s00432-025-06192-zInvestigating the role of HMGA2 plasma level as a diagnostic marker in bladder urothelial carcinoma patientsFarah Khazem0Almoutassem Billah Zetoune1Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Damascus UniversityDepartment of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Damascus UniversityAbstract Background Bladder Cancer (BC) is an environmental cancer caused by exposure to a globally widespread carcinogen, which is smoking, and it is characterized by high rates of recurrence and mortality. High Mobility Group A2 (HMGA2) protein is an oncofetal protein that belongs to the HMG family proteins. It is involved in various stages of carcinogenesis and cancer progression. This study investigated the presence and levels of the HMGA2 protein in bladder urothelial carcinoma patients’ plasma and in healthy individuals and their association with the clinicopathological features of bladder urothelial carcinoma. Methods This case–control study included 80 individuals divided into two groups: a healthy group (n = 22) and a patient group with bladder urothelial carcinoma (n = 58). There were 16 patients with Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer (MIBC) and 42 patients with Non-Invasive Bladder Cancer (NMIBC) in the patients’ cohort according to the European Association of Urology (EAU) classification. HMGA2 plasma levels were measured by Sandwich Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay (ELISA). The statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS statistics (version 25) software. The t-test and the Mann–Whitney test were used. Results Plasma HMGA2 protein levels were higher in the BC group than in the healthy group (P < 0.001), they also were higher in MIBC (pT2-pT3) than in NMIBC (pTa-pT1) (P < 0.001). HMGA2 plasma levels were higher in high grade BC patients than in low grade BC patients (P = 0.049). Conclusions This study confirmed that the plasma HMGA2 protein level was higher in bladder cancer patients than in healthy individuals and that its elevated plasma levels were correlated with advanced stage and grade of BC; thus, the plasma HMGA2 protein level represents a potential non-invasive marker that could be included in bladder cancer diagnosis approach.https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-025-06192-zBladder cancerUrothelial carcinomaHMGA2PlasmaBC stageBC grade
spellingShingle Farah Khazem
Almoutassem Billah Zetoune
Investigating the role of HMGA2 plasma level as a diagnostic marker in bladder urothelial carcinoma patients
Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology
Bladder cancer
Urothelial carcinoma
HMGA2
Plasma
BC stage
BC grade
title Investigating the role of HMGA2 plasma level as a diagnostic marker in bladder urothelial carcinoma patients
title_full Investigating the role of HMGA2 plasma level as a diagnostic marker in bladder urothelial carcinoma patients
title_fullStr Investigating the role of HMGA2 plasma level as a diagnostic marker in bladder urothelial carcinoma patients
title_full_unstemmed Investigating the role of HMGA2 plasma level as a diagnostic marker in bladder urothelial carcinoma patients
title_short Investigating the role of HMGA2 plasma level as a diagnostic marker in bladder urothelial carcinoma patients
title_sort investigating the role of hmga2 plasma level as a diagnostic marker in bladder urothelial carcinoma patients
topic Bladder cancer
Urothelial carcinoma
HMGA2
Plasma
BC stage
BC grade
url https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-025-06192-z
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