BACKGROUND: This study assessed whether serum Golgi phosphoprotein 3 (GOLPH3) could be used as a biomarker for detecting bladder cancer.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) assay were performed to measure GOLPH3 expression in serum and tissue samples, respectively, of bladder cancer patients. The associations of serum GOLPH3 expression with clinicopathological factors and the diagnostic accuracy were statistically evaluated using the chi-square test and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis.

RESULTS: Compared with the healthy control group, serum GOLPH3 level was distinctly enhanced in bladder cancer patients (P<0.001). Moreover, compared to the non-malignant tissues, GOLPH3 showed positive expression in bladder cancer tissues. The abnormal GOLPH3 levels were tightly related to grade (P=0.018), tumor stage (P=0.000), lymph node status (P=0.030), and muscle invasion (P=0.012). ROC analysis showed that serum GOLPH3 exhibited a high diagnostic value to distinguish bladder cancer patients from healthy persons. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) was 0.948. The specificity and sensitivity were 92.5% and 83.8%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS: GOLPH3 was highly expressed in bladder cancer patients and could be used as a diagnostic tool.

Keywords: Diagnosis, trans-Golgi Network, Membrane Proteins, ROC Curve