{
  "abstract": "Introduction\n\nFGFR3 (fibroblast growth factor receptor 3) is frequently altered in urothelial carcinoma and has been associated with less aggressive disease, but its prognostic relevance remains uncertain. We evaluated tumor FGFR3 mRNA expression levels in relation to clinicopathological phenotype and outcomes in bladder cancer.Material and methods\n\nFresh-frozen tumor tissue from 80 urothelial carcinomas (54 non-muscle-invasive, 26 muscle-invasive) was used for RNA extraction and quantitative PCR. FGFR3 expression levels were normalized to pooled controls and log₁₀-transformed. Associations with invasiveness, grade, and survival were assessed using logistic and Cox regression, with discrimination quantified by the area under the curve (AUC) and calibration by the Brier score.Results\n\nHigher FGFR3 expression was independently associated with non-muscle-invasive disease (OR 6.35, 95% CI: 2.14-18.83; p <0.001; AUC 0.74; Brier 0.180) and low grade (OR 5.99, 1.78-20.13; p = 0.004; AUC 0.74; Brier 0.189). FGFR3 was not associated with overall survival (HR 0.52, 95% CI: 0.25-1.06; p = 0.072). In the NMIBC subset, FGFR3 was not associated with recurrence-free survival (HR 1.09, 0.37-3.20; p = 0.880). Age (HR 1.03, 0.98-1.09; p = 0.191) and grade (HR 2.16, 0.78-5.94; p = 0.137) were also non-significant.Conclusions\n\nTumor FGFR3 mRNA expression was strongly associated with a less aggressive phenotype but showed no independent prognostic value for survival in this cohort. FGFR3 may support phenotypic assessment at diagnosis, while its prognostic role warrants validation in larger studies.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, North Macedonia.",
    "University Clinic for Urology, Faculty of Medicine, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, North Macedonia.",
    "PHI University Clinic for Surgical Diseases St. Naum Ohridski, Skopje, Faculty of Medicine, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University, North Macedonia."
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 8,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Kiril Pakovski"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Marija Markova"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Josif Janchulev"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Martina Ambardjieva"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Aleksandra Gavrilovska-Brzanov"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Slavica Josifovska"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Skender Saidi"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Sasho Panov"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3ar55t7b5cd2h.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.5173/ceju.2025.0236",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13682537",
  "id": "3ar55t7b5cd2h",
  "issns": [
    "2080-4806",
    "2080-4873"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42903929",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-SA",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-SA",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2746|Bladder and Urothelial Cancer Treatments"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7204890596",
  "pdf_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13682537?pdf=render",
  "pmcid": "PMC13682537",
  "pmid": "42903929",
  "published": "2026-05-09",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3ar55t7b5cd2h.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:19:59Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42903929",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42903929"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:2746|Bladder and Urothelial Cancer Treatments",
      "subfield": "surgery"
    }
  ],
  "title": "FGFR3 mRNA expression in urothelial bladder cancer: Associations with tumor phenotype without prognostic impact.",
  "title_text": "FGFR3 mRNA expression in urothelial bladder cancer: Associations with tumor phenotype without prognostic impact.",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:19:59Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3ar55t7b5cd2h",
  "venue": "Central European journal of urology",
  "versions": []
}