Study of the Apoptotic Effect in Patients with Urological versus Gynaecological Chronic Pelvic Pain

The objective is to observe if it could be possible to use the apoptosis test to distinguish different aetiologies in chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS). A prospective study was done, 106 patients, 57 had previously been diagnosed with urological chronic pelvic pain (UCPP)/interstitial cystitis (IC) and 49 patients with gynaecological chronic pelvic pain (GCPP). Neoplastic cells cultures were exposed to the urine of patients with UCPP/IC and patients with GCPP. The urine ability to provoque apoptosis on them was analysed. The apoptosis degree was measured by quantifying the percentage of cells in phase subG0, determined by a flow cytometry analysis. It is observed that the cell cultures exposed to urine of patients with UCPP had a significantly higher sub-G1 peak and G2 phase than those of the cells exposed to urine from patient’s GCPP. The average values of apoptosis in patients with UCPP were significantly higher to that obtained in ­patients having GCPP. With the apoptosis tests having a value >10%, it is considered as positive as well. This means that when we are faced with a patient who has UCPP or non-bladder chronic pelvic pain, the probability of having an UCPP increases by 45% when the apoptosis test is positive for a value >10%. Urine from patients with UCPP has significantly higher apoptotic effect over than the effect produced by urine from patients with GCPP. The apoptosis test could be useful as an illness biomarker.