Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41663990›Full record

ArticleBMC cancer2026

Sex-related differences in gene expression in early-stage bladder cancer revealed by whole-transcriptome sequencing.

Natalia Zeber-Lubecka, Konrad Bilski, Michalina Dąbrowska, Krzysztof Goryca, Joanna Ziemska-Legięcka, Jerzy Ostrowski, Jakub Dobruch, Ewa E Hennig

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Article in BMC cancer, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Natalia Zeber-LubeckaDepartment of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Clinical Oncology, Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education, 02-781, Warsaw, Poland.
Konrad BilskiDepartment of Urology, Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education, Independent Public Hospital of Prof. W. Orlowski, 00-416, Warsaw, Poland.
Michalina DąbrowskaDepartment of Genetics, Maria Sklodowska-Curie National Research Institute of Oncology, 02-781, Warsaw, Poland.
Krzysztof GorycaDepartment of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Clinical Oncology, Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education, 02-781, Warsaw, Poland.
Joanna Ziemska-LegięckaDepartment of Genetics, Maria Sklodowska-Curie National Research Institute of Oncology, 02-781, Warsaw, Poland.
Jerzy OstrowskiDepartment of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Clinical Oncology, Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education, 02-781, Warsaw, Poland.
Jakub DobruchDepartment of Urology, Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education, Independent Public Hospital of Prof. W. Orlowski, 00-416, Warsaw, Poland. jdobruch@cmkp.edu.pl.
Ewa E HennigDepartment of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Clinical Oncology, Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education, 02-781, Warsaw, Poland. ehennig@cmkp.edu.pl.

Funding

Narodowe Centrum Nauki 2019/33/B/NZ5/02447
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundBladder cancer (BC) is significantly more prevalent in men than in women, yet female patients often experience higher recurrence rates and poorer prognosis.

methodsOur study aimed to investigate sex-specific gene expression differences in early-stage BC using whole-transcriptome sequencing. A total of 51 patients diagnosed with low-grade Ta stage non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer were recruited. Paired tissue samples from tumor lesions and adjacent healthy bladder mucosa (BM) were analyzed to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs).

resultsAmong the top 100 most significant DEGs for each gender, overwhelmingly more upregulated in BC comparing with BM were in male than female tissues (90% vs. 19%). The most significantly altered expression in female BC tissues included MT-ND6, ARL4C, ASGR1, MYBL1, and SCAMP5, whereas in males, ONECUT2, SPEG, CTSE, GJB2, and SYNM. Notably, 753 DEGs were unique to female patients, while 3989 were specific to males, with 1633 shared between both sexes. Functional annotation revealed that female-unique DEGs were significantly enriched in immune-related pathways, including regulation of leukocyte activation and cell–cell adhesion, and lymphocyte differentiation. Whereas male-unique DEGs were predominantly associated with pathways related to cell cycle regulation, mitochondrial function, and androgen receptor signaling. Immune-related gene expression indicated that female-specific DEGs were involved in leukocyte activation and antigen receptor signaling, whereas male-specific DEGs were linked to B-cell activation and neutrophil-mediated immune responses. A two-factor interaction model identified S100A14 as the only protein-coding gene whose expression exhibited a significant sex-dependent pattern, with four additional genes (GJB2, DSC2, TM4SF and ALOX15B) showing a probable interaction effect.

conclusionsThese findings provide preliminary evidence supporting further investigation of sex-specific approaches to BC management.

Indexed as

Biomarkers, TumorGene Expression Regulation, NeoplasticTranscriptomeUrinary Bladder NeoplasmsAgedFemaleGene Expression ProfilingHumansMaleMiddle AgedNeoplasm StagingNon-Muscle Invasive Bladder NeoplasmsSex FactorsBiomarkers, TumorGrade stage; differentially expressed genesInvasive bladder cancer; earlyMuscleNonRelated; lowStage cancer; sex

Identifiers

PMID41663990
PMCPMC12998147

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.