Carboplatin–gemcitabine combination chemotherapy upregulates AKR1B10 expression in bladder cancer

Background AKR1B10 is considered to contribute to cell proliferation and chemoresistance. In the present study, we examined whether AKR1B10 expression is associated with disease-free survival in bladder cancer patients. Methods We obtained bladder cancer specimens from 10 patients before and after chemotherapy and measured AKR1B10 mRNA levels using real-time PCR. In addition, we conducted an immunohistochemical examination of AKR1B10 expression in 57 patients with bladder cancer before and after chemotherapy. Results AKR1B10 mRNA expression was significantly higher in the post-chemotherapy group than in the pre-chemotherapy group ( p