ABSTRACT Objectives The glucocorticoid receptor beta (GRβ) not only inhibits the function of the glucocorticoid receptor but also possesses unique transcriptional activity. Whereas the role of GRβ varies among different cancer types, its significance in bladder cancer remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the clinical significance of GRβ expression in bladder cancer. Methods Immunohistochemical analysis was performed on tissue samples obtained from 106 patients who underwent surgery for bladder cancer. The immunoreactivity of GRβ was evaluated using the labeling index (0%–100%). The association between GRβ expression and clinical parameters obtained from medical records was analyzed. Results GRβ expression was significantly lower in muscle‐invasive bladder cancer (≥ pT2) compared with non‐muscle‐invasive cases (≤ pT1) ( p = 0.0177). Furthermore, patients who experienced intravesical recurrence after surgery exhibited significantly lower GRβ expression ( p = 0.0179). Conclusions These findings suggest that GRβ may serve as a potential biomarker for predicting the progression and recurrence of bladder cancer.
Kukimoto et al. (Wed,) studied this question.